


Reason

by certe_cose



Category: Hunter X Hunter, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Dadzawa, F/F, F/M, Inter-dimensional traveling, Isekai, M/M, Multi, SO MUCH FLUFF, all the u.a. girls are crushing on kurapika, but also some spice dw, fr he's the bane of my fucking existence, killua and bakugou do NOT get along btw, leorio is a simp, multiple x reader - Freeform, pariston hill being a dick for 60 chapters, reader has something to do with the dark continent, reader is from the hxh world and winds up in bnha, reader's lowkey kinda dumb but loveable
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-15 04:08:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 50
Words: 130,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29678202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/certe_cose/pseuds/certe_cose
Summary: [REWRITE]—·—·—Everything happens for a reason — at least, that's what you'd like to believe. While playing Greed Island with your friends Killua and Gon, a spell card gone wrong transports you to a whole other world — one where nen doesn't exist, and instead everybody has "quirks". Can you make it back to your own world, or are you stuck here for good?—·—·—[Crossposted on Quotev @ feedback and Wattpad @ hypemode]
Relationships: Ashido Mina/Reader, Bakugou Katsuki/Reader, Gon Freecs/Killua Zoldyck, Iida Tenya/Reader, Kaminari Denki/Reader, Kirishima Eijirou/Reader, Kurapika (Hunter X Hunter)/Reader, Leorio Paladiknight/Reader, Midoriya Izuku/Reader, Pariston Hill/Trash, Sero Hanta/Reader, Shinsou Hitoshi/Reader, Todoroki Shouto/Reader, Toga Himiko/Reader, Uraraka Ochako/Reader, Yaoyorozu Momo/Reader
Comments: 16
Kudos: 61





	1. Prologue

Sometimes, life didn't go as planned, and you were perfectly okay with that. After all, you supposed, the twists and turns of life was what made everything so fun and interesting! That is, until now, where you somehow were deposited into the sky, falling at breakneck speed towards your quickly-approaching doom. You could use your _nen_ , but you weren't entirely sure that could protect you from the impact of the ground, not to mention your aura was almost completely depleted.

To put it bluntly? You were fucked, and you knew it.

How did you get here, though? How did you fuck up _so_ bad in the past 24-hours that you wound up a thousand feet in the air, plummeting to your death? . . .

* * *

"I wonder how Killua is doing."

You had been lying on the ground - slacking off, really - with Bisky and Gon, staring lackadaisically at the sky as Gon continued to perfect his new _nen_ ability. You had done it earlier, training in enhancement, but had deemed a break absolutely necessary. As long as Bisky wasn't yelling at you, it was fine, right?

Stopping what he was doing (trying to get his 'paper' to go out as far as he could), your friend shot you a pure smile. "It's Killua, he'll become a hunter in no time!"

You had no doubt that he would pass, especially since his older brother wouldn't be interfering this time, and so you nodded, finally propping yourself up on your arms. Like you, Bisky was laying on the ground lazily, giving Gon advice where it was needed. Despite your group's misgivings at first, she was honestly a great mentor. You hadn't been with your two friends at Heaven's Arena to meet Wing, but she had been much better than _your_ previous mentor, who jerked you around with the fake fundamentals for two months before finally helping you out.

Now sitting up, you opened up your card binder to look at what you had currently. Not a lot, if you were honest, as you kept giving your cards to Gon for him to hold onto. With the boy going back to his training, you turned to your blonde friend. "Since we weren't a part of the alliance, you don't think that bomber guy is going to seek us out, right?" you asked her. Despite the threat, it didn't scare you. Maybe it was foolish, but you and your friends had stood up to the Phantom Troupe and _lived_ , so this guy didn't scare you at all.

_Still, though... I wish things would get a bit more exciting around here._

**_I'll fix that for you, [Y/n]!_ **

A voice spoke up in your head, but by the time you had processed that _wasn't_ your voice you had been distracted by a strange card in your binder that you had never seen before. "Hey, hey, what's this?"

You could tell she was irritated by the interruption, but she peeked over and soon that irritation turned to confusion herself. In the spell section of your binder lay a new card. It was completely black, no description or number on it, save for the word "Departure". You couldn't recall ever gaining it, and so seeing it in your inventory was, for lack of better words, spooky.

And so you took it out of the binder.

"What's that?"

Sidetracked from training, Gon had wondered over, curious himself as to what had taken up yours and Bisky's attention, and you showed him the blank card. He seemed puzzled, although knowing him, it was probably because you and Bisky were so puzzled instead of the weird card itself.

"I'm not sure, but... we can find out!" you said, holding the card in front of you. Without any hesitation, you activated it, saying the name out loud as your mentor had immediately protested.

And... nothing.

Was it a dud? You weren't sure, but the card still lay in your hand, unmoving, and you sighed before shooting a grin to your friends. "See? Nothing even - oh."

Immediately, you felt weird, as if your heart had dropped into your stomach, and you looked down at the card to see a black hole of gas swirling around it, swallowing it up. It didn't stop there, though, as the mass grew bigger, inking over your hands and arms at a quick pace. Where the hole touched, your skin felt like fire despite the chills going down your spine.

Oh _shit_.

"What did I do?!"

Looking up at your friends with wide eyes as the hole had nearly swallowed you whole, the last thing you saw were their horrified faces, before you plunged into the abyss.

* * *

. . . Which leads you to now. Tumbling through the sky as the ground grew closer and closer. On instinct, you activated your _ren_. You hoped that if you had your aura encompass your entire body, it would prevent you from impact, but you weren't too certain. It was pathetic - you had passed the Hunter Exam, survived an encounter with the most notorious group of S-rank criminals, and had defeated various magical beasts, only to wind up falling to your death of all things. What kind of hunter were you, to die at the young age of 16, soon to be 17?!

Squeezing your eyes shut, you tensed for impact, knowing full well you probably weren't going to make it. _Well, I hope Killua passed the exam this time._

And that was the last thought that went through your mind before everything went black.


	2. Just Awake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Somehow, you're still alive. Waking up in a hospital bed, you're greeted by two strangers that seem to want to help.

As soon as you came to consciousness, you were aware of the soreness all over your body, and you groaned, shifting uncomfortably as your eyes opened.

Where were you? The last thing you remembered was falling through the sky after that weird spell card. Were you dead? Was this the _afterlife?!_

No. You were clearly in a hospital bed, hooked up to various machines, and despite the soreness and pounding headache, you didn't see any outstanding injuries. Perhaps using your _ren_ had protected you more than you thought it would. Were you still in Greed Island, or had you been ejected out of the game? If you were, it'd be a pain to get back in, but you promised Gon and Killua you'd help them, especially since you had nothing else to do at the time. As Gon's unofficial older sister (considering his aunt basically adopted you), you felt like it was your duty to watch over him, after all!

Sitting up and wincing at the stiffness in your muscles, you took in your surroundings. Your clothes were folded neatly on a table. They were torn up and dirty, but still wearable, and in place of your clothes was a paper-thin hospital gown. Your phone? Not nearly in as good condition. It had been in your pockets, and now lied in a broken and crunched up mess besides your clothes, having been placed in a plastic bag for protection. You doubted it was still repairable, meaning you'd have to buy a new one again. At least you remembered some phone numbers, right? If you could find a payphone, you could call Killua before he went back into the game to tell him what's going on.

Behind the table sat a large window, the curtains drawn. From what you could see, you were definitely in a city, and it wasn't the same architecture as what they had in the game so your best guess was York New, but... Well, something was off. You just couldn't place it.

Immediately, your head jerked to the door, hearing hushed voices behind it, and you tilted your head to the side, growing impatient as the door remained closed. There were people standing right outside your door, and try as you might, you couldn't pick up what they were saying. Were they going to come _in_? You didn't have all day to just lie here, but you also knew that it would only cause more trouble if you just ripped everything off and left.

Finally, as if sensing your ever-growing impatience, the door opened, revealing an odd trio of people. The first was a disapproving nurse, who didn't look very pleased that your rest was being interrupted. The next was somebody who looked to be a police officer of sorts, and the last was a tired and grubby looking man who seemed like he hadn't seen sleep for days.

"Ah, so you're awake. Pardon the intrusion," the policeman apologized, bowing, causing you to nod in return as the grubby man scrutinized you. The nurse had taken to checking everything right away, and you ignored your two visitors for the time being to focus on the nurse's questions as she took your vitals.

"You should be resting more, but, well, Detective Tsukauchi wanted to ask you some questions about what happened and insisted it was important," she fretted, and you gave her a bright smile. 

"I'll be fine, thank you, though!"

Shooting your two visitors one more glance, she patted your cheek before leaving the room. Your voice had come out hoarse, you weren't sure how long you had been out for, but it was only now that you were aware of how dry your throat was. Without missing a beat, you asked the two men if one of them could grab you a drink, and with some grumbling the grubby man left. Moments later, he came back with a can of juice for you, and you didn't hesitate to rip it open and start drinking from it.

It was awkwardly silent, nobody saying anything until you put down the empty can, wiping your mouth on your arm. Finally, the detective guy spoke up, pulling up a chair next to your bed and sitting down in it, a small notepad and pen in his hands.

"I know you're still recovering, but I'd like to ask you a couple of questions. My name is Detective Tsukauchi, and this is the man who found you, Eraserhead. Can you tell me what you remember?"

Eraserhead? That was a weird name, but you _were_ friends with a lady named Biscuit, so you wouldn't comment on it. Instead, you hummed, thinking back. "Well, I was in that game Greed Island, right? You know, the one that only a few copies are in existence. Anyways, the game is suuuuper complicated but, like, you get these spell cards, and there was one I didn't recognize! So I activated it, and next thing you know I'm separated from my friends and falling through the sky! I have no clue how I wound up here of all places, though!"

You didn't see any reason to not tell the truth so you spilled your guts to the detective, who looked somewhat disconcerted at your weird admission. Did he not hear of Greed Island? You wouldn't be too surprised since it wasn't _too_ popular. If that was the case, you were _not_ explaining that all to him, it was way too much to get into! Besides, you weren't entirely sure if you even understood most of that game. You just went with the flow.

"... Right. What's your name, young lady?"

"[Y/n]!"

"And how old are you?"

"Probably 16, sir!"

"'Probably' . . ? And where are your parents?"

You faltered, before shrugging. "I don't know, I grew up without them. But I was raised by my friend's Aunt Mito on Whale Island! So I guess she'd be my parent!"

Detective Tsukauchi and Eraserhead shared a look that you couldn't quite decipher, and you finally decided to ask _them_ a question in return. "So where am I? Am I back in York New?"

You waited as Detective Tsukauchi seemed to ponder over his words for a moment, seeming confused at your choice of words. "'York New'..? No, you're currently in Musutafu," he said. Seeing your confused look, he then tacked on, "Japan." As if that would clear it up. You were pretty good with your geography of the known world, and had never in your life heard of a place called Musutafu or Japan, unless they were smaller places located in the United States of Saherta or something like that.

Sensing your confusion, Eraserhead decided to spare you from hurting your brain by asking a question himself. He sounded gruff, and your attention was fully turned towards him. "The nurse said nobody healed you, so how did you heal? When I found you, you were a bloody mess, but now you don't have a scratch on you. Is that your quirk?"

Ah, so your _ren_ _didn't_ save you, but that was pretty interesting that you healed while sleeping. Was your _hatsu_ ability subconsciously activated? It was possible, but you didn't really think it could ever be used passively. That answered the first question, but you had no clue where to even start with that second one. What did he mean by 'quirk'? You were at a loss, and so you decided to just be honest. The entire situation was growing weird, and you wanted these two to leave so you could find a payphone and tell Killua to tell Gon that you were alright.

"I have absolutely _no_ idea what you mean by quirk, but I can heal myself." You weren't going to get into _nen_ with strangers who apparently had no clue what it was, and the detective seemed miffed at your short sentence. Not like he didn't believe you, though, but more so in disbelief that you were being honest.

Once again, you were growing impatient. "Is that all, sir? I really need to get back to my friends."

Despite with how rude your words came out, the guy interrogating you was full of patience, and looked once over at Eraserhead before running a hand through his head. If anything, he just looked baffled.

"You're telling the truth, but I'm having a hard time believing it."

You appreciated his trust in you, but were concerned at how trusting he was considering he was a detective. If all policeman were like this, no _wonder_ they had no chance in capturing petty thieves, let alone the Phantom Troupe. Good thing hunters existed, because your faith in the law enforcement was at an absolute zero. What did Killua once say? 'ACAB'?

You were unsure on how to really respond, but thankfully he spoke back up again. "I'm sorry we're keeping you, [Y/n]-san, but you appeared out of a black hole in the sky and created a crater in the middle of the city. There's no record of you anywhere in our system, and you have healed completely from some fatal injuries. We're just concerned that you might be a villain."

That was certainly a lot of information for your brain in its current state.

"Uh, what?" The picture of eloquence, you tried to think of how to really approach the man's words. "I'm a hunter, first of all, not a villain. If you don't believe me, my license is probably in my pockets," you said, shaking your head. "I don't know why I'm not showing up, but, well, one of my abilities allows me to heal myself pretty quickly. It probably just activated when I was knocked out."

Neither men reacted when you said the word 'hunter'. No apologies, no shocked looks. If anything, they looked like they had never even _heard_ the term before, and now you were getting nervous. Before, you had been able to brush it off, but something most certainly wasn't right. That 'departure' card had deposited you somewhere very strange, and it was concerning.

"Um, I'm sorry, but you said we're in Musutafu, Japan, right? Where is that? In the Yorbian or Azian continent?"

Both men, once again, seemed stumped at your question, and now concerned, as if you had grown a second head. "Continent? Japan is a part of Asia."

That made _no_ sense. You had never in your life heard of 'Asia', so either these guys were messing with you, or something was really wrong now. Was it possible that you had wound up on a different world? Was that even possible? Were you dead, and this was just some weird purgatory you got stuck in? What was going on?!

You were panicking, a step away from hyperventilating as you looked at the two men with scared, widened eyes. You shouldn't be here. _You shouldn't be here!_

Sensing your panic, Detective Tsukauchi placed a hand on your arm in an attempt to comfort you. He didn't look like he knew anymore than you did, but he remained calm. "Take a deep breath. You're fine."

You nodded, and in a few minutes you were calmed back down again. Once you showed that your panicking had passed, the detective removed his hand, placing the notepad he had out into his pockets. "[Y/n]-san, can you explain more about where you're from?"

You did. Maybe it was just the anxiety, but you spilled everything, talking about where you grew up with Gon, to the Hunter Exam, to York New City and the Phantom Troupe. You vaguely mentioned _nen_ , and ended your long-winded explanation with Greed Island and the 'departure' spell card that spit you out here. During your frantic explanation, you had watched the two's faces for any signs of recognition, but they showed none. Eraserhead, for the most part, remained pretty stoic, although he was now scrutinizing you and clearly not believing a word you said, and Detective Tsukauchi seemed completely and utterly baffled. Neither of them had a clue on what you said, and acted like you just said everything in another language.

Eraserhead was the first to speak up. "Listen kid, I don't know what you're trying to do, but-"

"It's true."

Detective Tsukauchi cut Eraserhead off, awe creeping into his voice. He wholeheartedly believed you, which was good, because you were pretty sure you were nowhere in the Known World. You had heard about the Dark Continent from reading history books, but you doubted you were there either. If you were, they'd still at least _recognize_ what you were saying, right?

Eraserhead turned his full attention to Detective Tsukauchi, disbelief showing on his features, but he didn't oppose him. "If what this girl's saying is true, then..."

He trailed off, and both men turned to look at you. How did you respond? Of course what you were saying was true!

Stuck at a weird stalemate, nobody said anything, the only sound heard in the room was the ticking of a clock and beeps coming from one of the many machines hooked up to you. As the silence continued on, both men in thought, you grew more impatient and, even worse, more _worried_. How were you going to get back?

You couldn't stand the silence, and quickly spoke up. "I'm not in the Known World, am I?" Your voice came out soft, wavering almost, but you had to keep strong. What would Gon and Killua say if they saw you like this? You could already hear Killua's mean comment and Gon's blunt way of trying to cheer you up. So, taking a deep breath, you summoned all of your courage and looked up at the two who had been running the interrogation. "What does this mean for me?"

Neither seemed to know how to answer, and the detective hesitated before finally answering your question. You had already suspected it, you weren't _stupid_ , but hearing it was a whole different story. 

"It's hard to even think this, [Y/n]-san, but... I don't think you're even in your world anymore."

Things just got a lot more complicating.


	3. Solution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This world is way too strange. Rest in Peace, All Might.

You didn't think that your situation could get any more complicated. If what Eraserhead and Detective Tsukauchi were saying was true, then you really _were_ stranded in another world. Back in your world, that thought would be near impossible — the Dark Continent hasn't even been properly explored yet, so how would you all have been able to visit alternate universes and other worlds? Judging by the two's faces, it seemed to be the same here. This was unheard of, which only signaled bad news for you. If this had never happened before, then how would you know how to get back to your own world?

To put it simple — this was a hot mess.

Despite your injuries having healed for the most part, you were restricted to bed rest as the detective made a call on his cell phone, leaving you alone with Eraserhead as he went outside of the room. The black-haired male looked absolutely exhausted. If he found you at night, and the sun is already up (the digital bedside clock blinking at 07:47), he's probably been up for a while, so it made sense.

Neither of you said anything as you fiddled with your blankets anxiously. Panic subsiding, you were drawing blanks on what your options could be. You were in an unknown world (to you) with no money, no way to contact your friends, no place to stay, and where you apparently didn't even exist. You had been through some pretty tough situations, but this most certainly took the cake.

A few minutes later of awkward silence, the detective came back in, scratching the back of his neck as he looked over at Eraserhead. "There's somebody else coming, but we have a bit of a problem..."

He didn't need to say the problem, as Eraserhead's face darkened. "The media."

It wasn't a question. He seemed to already know, and you tilted your head in confusion. What did the media have to do with this? You asked as much, wondering how that could be a problem, and Eraserhead let out a long-suffering sigh, putting a hand to his head as if he were fighting off an oncoming migraine.

"When you fell from the sky, you attracted a lot of attention. It's no wonder there are reporters waiting outside of the hospital to get a scoop on what happened and who you are."

You didn't really find a problem with this, honestly. You've had your fair share of attention, so why would reporters scare you? Apparently they were a real nuisance, though, for the two to seem so exhausted at the prospect of dealing with the onslaught of people. You found it kind of funny — Detective Tsukauchi had said that Eraserhead was a hero, so shouldn't he be _used_ to dealing with the media if he's out there saving people and such? You weren't going to question it though, having much bigger problems at the moment.

_Like how I'm going to get out of this stupid hospital._

You _hated_ being cooped up, so being confined to your bed was a literal nightmare! You knew if you tried anything the two men would stop you, and you honestly had no clue on how to gauge their power if _nen_ apparently didn't exist here. What was it they had again? Quirks? Whatever _that_ was, you weren't going to risk it.

Right on time (at least to your bored self) somebody else walked in, a tiny little rat-man wearing a suit and a permanent smile on his face.

_Okay, then._

"Where's All Might?"

Detective Tsukauchi was the first to speak, and the little rat-person-thing laughed, going to sit in the chair. "He got caught up by the press, unfortunately."

You didn't know who All Might was, but the other two adults nodded in understanding, as if it was something common. Maybe he was a popular person?

The rat-person turned to you, still smiling. "Miss [Y/n], correct? I'm Nezu, the principal of U.A. High School. I know you're probably wondering what I am, but I assure you that nobody else is sure either. Detective Tsukauchi filled me in a bit about your current situation. If what you're saying is true, you have no place to stay or go, right?"

Hesitantly, you nodded, a frown tugging downwards at your lips. "And I don't really know how to get back to my, um, world either." It hurt even worse to say that part out loud, but you couldn't lie. That wouldn't help you get back at all, and wouldn't improve your situation. Nezu nodded as if he expected it, and he nodded once, looking certain of his next words.

And boy, did they throw you for a _loop_.

"Well, the school year just started, but until we can get you back to your _world_ , I'd like you to consider joining the hero course at our school. If you're there, you will be provided with a place to stay and will have your secret kept safe with a few of the pro-heroes." You mulled over his words, and he continued to speak, seeing the interest on your face. "Did they tell you about quirks?"

You hesitated. Technically it was _mentioned_ , but you had no idea on what one was still, and so you shook your head, and Nezu nodded again as if he had expected that response all along. "A quirk is... a super power, of sorts. Detective Tsukauchi said that you had a healing ability — here, that would be called a quirk."

You finally decided to speak up again, cutting him off. There was something personable about Nezu that made you feel more at ease. Maybe it was his matter-of-fact speaking and his way of explaining things to you, or maybe it was the fact that he believed you wholeheartedly and wasn't treating you like a ticking time bomb from a different world. Whatever the reason was, it made you feel more comfortable and relaxed, and so you had no problem explaining to him (however briefly) about your _nen_ and your abilities outside of healing.

"Sort of. I mean, I can heal, but I'm not, like, limited to that." Your voice came out unsure and almost rushed as you tried to think of how to explain nen to somebody who had never heard of it before. "There're five categories of _nen_ , and I fall under the enhancer category. _Nen_ can be used to maybe run faster, or punch harder. Special _nen_ abilities are called _hatsu_ — mine allows me to heal myself when I go into a state of meditation, and it also allows me to boost my other capabilities? So I can, like, enhance my senses or strength or speed. So it's not just healing."

You _really_ sucked at explaining things.

Thankfully, it seemed Nezu understood — or at least had an idea of what _nen_ could be, because he nodded again, glancing over at the two. "This is quite the predicament you're in. I understand that it might be overwhelming here, Miss [Y/n], but I do believe it's in your best interest for you to stay at U.A. under the eyes of heroes for the time being."

Damn, this talking rat (no offense to Nezu, as he had been nothing but kind to you) talked better than you. However, you couldn't help but catch the tone in his voice, signaling there might be something more, or maybe it was his wording. _Under the eyes of pro-heroes._ While it was under the guise to keep you safe, you felt like they might also find you suspicious still. It sucked to be treated like a criminal of sorts, but at the same time...

 _I can't say I really blame them,_ you mused. Besides, despite the nice words and offers, you had a feeling this wasn't really a choice you could make, and so you nodded, determination setting across your face. Don't get it wrong — you were still afraid. Afraid that you wouldn't ever see your friends or home world again, afraid you were stranded for good, but you couldn't let that deter you. You were 16 years old! No longer a child, which meant that you needed to suck it up and play with the cards you have been dealt. This could be a fun experience anyways, right?

"I'll do it, Mr. Nezu. Sign me up for that hero course!"

Over the next few hours, the group had all discussed what was going to happen. For now, for your "protection" (and also so they could probably keep you under surveillance), you would be staying at a pro-hero's house — specifically, the one who found you. Eraserhead wasn't too keen on taking somebody under his wing, but had begrudgingly accepted. His real name was actually Shouta Aizawa, although he didn't seem to appreciate you calling him Shouta, making you switch to Aizawa immediately.

This world was so weird. Why did people insist on going by last names here?

Once your living situation was determined, you had to make up paperwork for your "transfer" to U.A. It was extremely boring, and as Aizawa had left to go prepare for the day's class, you found yourself wanting to go with him, not wanting to do anything with paperwork. All Might had never appeared, and you assumed he had been taken away by the rabid reporters.

Rest in peace, All Might.

"You've never been to school?!"

Being brought back to reality, you stared at the detective, unperturbed by his outburst. Even Nezu seemed a bit surprised, tilting his head to the side to wait for your explanation on your lack of education.

Flushing, you quickly explained it wasn't a big problem in your world. "I mean, Aunt Mito taught Gon and I partially, but we left to go take the Hunter Exam and find Gon's dad so we never enrolled in actual school," you told them. It didn't mean you were stupid! You just had different strengths. Growing up partially in the wild and home-schooled taught you things that no regular school could ever teach you. You had _survival skills_ , which was way more important than learning about the history of your world or finding the area to weird shapes.

Nezu and Detective Tsukauchi did not share your sentiment, apparently, and it only grew worse as you took a peek at what Nezu was writing and scrunched up your nose in confusion.

"What the hell are you writing?"

You didn't mean to blurt it out so rudely, and Detective Tsukauchi looked about ready to have an aneurysm; from your words or tone, you weren't sure. Probably both.

Taking a deep breath before exhaling, the detective asked, "Can you not read?"

Wait, _what?_

You were unimpressed, crossing your arms the best you could what with the IV still sticking into one of them. "Of course I can read! I assumed since we speak the same language, it would be written the same, but... I don't recognize any of those characters at all."

Nezu nodded again. He didn't seem too disturbed by your lack of knowledge when it came to reading and writing this language. "We'll have to put you in extra classes, but I know you'll be able to keep up," he reassured you with confidence, and while you weren't entirely sure you _shared_ his confidence you nodded anyways. Man, if you were going to be forced to learn 24/7, you wouldn't have agreed to going to this guy's school right away...

Eventually, your paperwork for "transferring" was done. After some consideration, you had decided on your "quirk". It kind of sucked — quirks were pretty limited here, meaning you could only use your _nen_ if it fit under the pretense of your quirk. Unfortunately, this meant you couldn't practice that cool emitter ability you had been working on on Greed Island, because it wouldn't make sense under your quirk description (at least, not around others — you planned on practicing it by yourself, to be honest). The rules and laws of this world were lame as fuck.

By the time you all had finished, it was late afternoon, and you sighed, rolling your shoulders back. "So I can go now, right? I want outta this dreary place!"

You were raring to go! The soreness now gone, you wanted nothing more than to explore the new world around you, but just as you had said that, the nurse from earlier came in, shaking her head at you.

"We want to keep you here for another day before turning you loose to the world to make sure there aren't any repercussions you're facing. You took a pretty nasty fall, miss."

Nezu and the detective didn't bother to argue, instead nodding in understanding. "I agree, Miss [Y/n]. You should use this time to get some rest so you can get out tomorrow and start coming to U.A."

With that said, Nezu stood up, bowing politely before leaving. Detective Tsukauchi lingered behind long enough to give you his information in case you had any problems, before leaving himself. You didn't even have the chance to point out that your cell phone was smashed and that you didn't really have a way to get a hold of him. Not that it mattered — you doubted HunterX was a cell service here, anyways.

After the nurse had checked your vitals and asked you the stereotypical questions of ' _how are you feeling?_ ' and ' _anything concerning?_ ', she had left too, leaving you alone to deal with your thoughts and to mull over everything that had happened within the past 24 hours.

_Gon, Killua, Bisky... I hope you three are doing well, because I doubt I'm gonna be back anytime soon._


	4. Explosive Babies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> School is weird. It's your first day, class hasn't even started, and you've already made one friend and one enemy.

"Ya know, I've never been to school before, so I'm excited! Are we gonna fight today? When can I fight? I wanna fight!"

Brimming with excitement, you were chirpy and talking at a rate faster than Aizawa could currently handle at this time in the morning as you looked in floor length mirror, fiddling with your new school uniform. The skirt was pretty short, you weren't entirely certain it was practical for fighting in, _and_ your tie was a bit sloppy, but you thought it was perfect. It was so cute!

Having been discharged from the hospital earlier in the morning, Aizawa had appeared to pick you up, the two of you taking a back exit to leave the hospital since the threat of nosy reporters still loomed over you. You were now in his small, one-bedroom apartment. It was messy and cramped — it wasn't that Aizawa was a slob or anything, you just figured he was too busy and tired to really care about the place. Maybe after school today, you could clean it up for him!

"You're too noisy. Let's go."

You had learned that Aizawa wasn't the most personable person, tending to speak brashly and not very often, but you let it roll right off you. Despite his attitude, you were extremely thankful. After all, that he had agreed to house you until a more permanent situation could be figured out. On top of that, him, Detective Tsukauchi, and Nezu went above and beyond in coming up with your backstory to smooth out any complications.

Your "official" identity was [Y/n] Freecss since you had to take on a last name. After they had heard about York New City, they had decided it would be best to say you were from New York City in the United States of America. Both cities and countries seemed to be the same and sound the same, and it was the best way to explain the cultural differences, your appearance, and your inability to read or write Japanese. Obviously, you were given a fake quirk to cover up your _nen_ , and you had promised to stay within the parameters of that "quirk".

Going even _farther_ , Detective Tsukauchi had been more than happy to help you research New York City so if people asked about it, you could answer appropriately. You all also had to address your arrival. The media had covered it, and it was strange to just fall out of the sky — the story for _that_ was that you had been caught up in a villain attack right when you moved to Japan, and that's how you wound up in that position.

Thanks to the three adults, you could blend in almost seamlessly.

Grinning over at Aizawa, you picked up your school bag and double-checked once more to make sure you had everything you needed. In it was standard school stuff, you assumed, as well as the most important thing — a new cell phone. 

Aizawa had taken it upon himself to get you a new phone just in case anything happened. You had immediately put in the detective's phone number upon receiving it and saw there were already a few other numbers for "emergency use only" (such as Aizawa's, Nezu's, and the mysterious All Might's whom you _still_ haven't met yet). The phone was much sleeker and fancier looking than your previous one. And it had an interactive screen that reacted to touch! The technology here was _amazing_ , everything was so futuristic, but at the same time it overwhelmed you.

You sort of wished you had a brief period of time to adjust before being thrust into a new place again. Not to mention, the more you fiddled with your phone, the more you realized that it was going to be otherwise useless, considering you couldn't read Japanese.

Following Aizawa, you were aware of just how different you two were. You walked with pep in your step, almost skipping with excitement as you memorized the route to your school. It may have been early morning, but you were all smiles and optimism. Aizawa, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. He didn't slouch really, but he looked tired and as if he was ready to throw himself into the void. It was honestly kind of funny.

Approaching the school, your excitement only grew. It was _humongous!_ You couldn't help but gawk, pausing in your steps for a moment to just take it all in. Unfortunately, it was enough time to lose Aizawa in the crowd of people by the gate. Were those reporters?

Shoving through and apologizing to anybody whose feet you stepped on, you were ambushed by questions as you fumbled with the key card you were given. How was it supposed to work again?

"Are you one of All Might's students?"

"What's it like being taught by the Symbol of Peace?"

"Do you have any stories about All Might?"

Ignoring the onslaught of questions, you huffed in irritation as the key card slipped from your fingers, the lanyard dangling uselessly around your neck as you grabbed it again. Did you just wave it? Where was it supposed to go? How the hell were you supposed to get _in_?

"Wait a minute, I recognize you! You're the girl who fell from the sky!"

This caught your attention as your head snapped up, [e/c] eyes zeroing in on the plain-looking reporter who thrust his microphone at you. At his revelation, they started to bombard you with more questions, flustering you as all attention had zeroed in on you. Oh no. You had _no_ idea how to deal with this situation, and you gripped the key card tightly, your knuckles turning white from the pressure. Was it too late to turn around and run back to Aizawa's apartment? Clearly this was way too soon for you!

"Get out of my fucking way!"

 _Damn_. Head swiveling around to locate the vulgar voice, you watched as a blond around your age approached the gate, brusquely shoving reporters to the side as they continued to bombard with their questions. He didn't care though, paying them no mind as he pulled out his own key card, ignoring you completely as he opened the gate.

You were quick to slip through the gate right behind him, fearing that it might close before you could get through. Because of this, you bumped into his back as the gate closed behind you two, and you laughed lightly.

"I'm so-"

He cut you off, whirling around and shooting a glare that would terrify any normal person. "Watch where you're going, you damn extra!"

 _D a m n._ While a bit surprised at his rude words, you didn't back away like he had clearly expected you to. It was as if somebody took all of Killua's rude personality traits and multiplied them by 100. Thankfully, you knew how to deal with people like this.

Giving the blond what you hoped was your brightest and most dazzling smile, you responded, "Bitch, I'm not an extra, I'm the main character here." Honestly, you were pretty proud of the witty quip that left your mouth, but the other guy? Not so much. If anything, he looked like he was going to truly kill you, and you could feel yourself start to get pumped up. Oh, this was going to be _fun_ to tease him, and you briefly wondered if the two of you would be in the same class.

" _What_ was that you stupid — "

You had better things to do, though, and easily skirted around him, waving a hand dismissively as you didn't bother to spare him another glance. You needed to find Aizawa. You knew you were in class 1-A, but the campus seemed to sprawl on for miles, and the large building in the center did nothing to ease your mind. Hopefully the classroom was close by, right?

Hearing angry shouts behind you from the blond, you half-expected him to run after you and try to fight you, but he must have decided that you just weren't important enough, because soon the insults and shouts had died off. If you saw him later, you'd give him more hell, but for now? You had bigger worries.

Glancing around, you figured your best bet would be to ask for help. Students milled about the campus with their friends, and your eyes caught a few that stood out. You had seen some weird people back in your world — hell, one was a giant green _bean_ — but it still threw you for a loop to see how some people looked. It was definitely a normality in this world, too, it seemed. You figured it was natural. Aizawa had explained that some quirks changed people's appearances (they were called heteromorphic or whatever), and so he had warned you that you might see some interesting-looking people and to not be rude and stare at them.

Eventually, your eyes zeroed in on one girl, whose movements seemed sporadic as she tried to get other people's attention. _I could ask for her help?_

You were confident in your approach to her, approaching from behind as you called out to her. "Excuse me, uh, where's Class 1-A? For the hero course?"

She whirled around, golden eyes zeroing in on you immediately. _Wait a minute, are her pupils_ crosshairs _? That's cool as fuck!_

Nodding, you sighed in relief, and she grabbed your arm with a tight grip. "You'll do nicely!"

_Huh?_

Stumbling after her, you kept up with her. What did she exactly mean by that? You asked as much, not really one to just "wait things out". "Wait, what do you mean? Are you taking me to my class?"

Her response was dismissive, and you could easily tell that she wasn't really paying too much attention to you. "Yeah, I just need you to test something out for me first."

You decided to leave it there. As much as you were honestly dying to know what the hell she was talking about, you had a feeling she was too caught up in her own thoughts to really answer any of your questions, so you just impatiently followed, curiosity eating away at you. What exactly did she want you to test?

Coming to an industrial-looking door, she didn't hesitate to waltz in with you right behind her. There was a strange looking man sitting at a desk, and he glanced over to the two of you. The way his body tensed, you had a feeling he was grimacing behind that strange mask/helmet of his.

"Hatsume, what are you doing? And who's this?"

"I'm [Y/n] — er, Freecss [Y/n]!" You replied as the pink-haired girl, apparently Hatsume, let go of your wrist. She turned towards the man with sparkling eyes as she clasped her hands in front of her. 

"I just need to make an adjustment on one of my babies and this girl offered to help me out! Nothing bad will happen!"

Well, you didn't _offer_ so much as get dragged here so you could get directions, but you chose not to say that out loud. She seemed so happy, and besides, you couldn't deny that you were curious to see what exactly she was talking about! The man, on the other hand, didn't seem to share your excitement. Instead, you felt like he was pretty skeptical, and it was silent before he let out a sigh and nodded at Hatsume's words.

"It's only the start of the school year, but you've been working with every free moment you're given. Just don't have a repeat of yesterday." At his confirmation she had quickly went off, rummaging through what looked to be a pile of junk. She didn't make any promises. What happened yesterday that he didn't want a repeat of...?

About to ask, you didn't have time to as she let out an excited "aha!". You just stood there somewhat awkwardly, looking around in curiosity as you waited for her to finish doing what she was doing. You kind of hoped this would be quick, as you were starting to get nervous about Aizawa possibly killing you for being late to class. Finally, she turned towards you, a pair of clunky boots in her hands. She thrust them towards you. "These are my latest babies, aren't they super cute? They're the cutest! Now put them on!"

She was straight to the point, and you couldn't really deny her demand, so you gingerly took them from her. You still weren't used to this world's technology, and these obviously did something, so you put them on, excited to see what they would do. "These look so futuristic and cool!"

Hatsume appreciated your enthusiasm, nodding vehemently in agreement with your words. "Yes, yes! My babies will surely be an invention to change the world!" She declared, picking up a remote. "Yesterday they exploded, so let's see how they work today!"

You nodded, excited at first before her words actually hit you. "Wait... exploded?"

You got no response as she pressed the button. You could feel the boots whir to life, and your stomach clenched in a burst of anxiety. _Oh god, I'm gonna lose my feet, aren't I?_

Thankfully, they didn't explode, and you could feel yourself slowly lift up. Holy _shit_ , were you floating?

For a moment, it was actually really cool. You had never seen something like this before, and to be able to experience it firsthand was _amazing_. Seriously, the technology here was incredible! Hatsume seemed just as excited that you were still in once piece, and she started to write something down on a torn piece of paper. The excitement didn't last long, though.

"Um, these are starting to feel really hot."

Indeed, it felt like your feet were overheating, and despite the soles being padded, the overheating feeling quickly started to turn into a burning sensation. Again, you were hit with the thought that you were going to lose your feet. Was this the end of the line?

Hatsume didn't seem very concerned that you were in pain, and instead calmly pressed the button on the remote again, which instantly zapped her, making her drop the remote.

"Whoops!"

Unfortunately, whatever had made the remote malfunction, also made her 'babies' malfunction as the whirring picked up. You only had a split second to envelop your entire body with _ren_ before you shot upwards and into the ceiling where the whirring stopped, and you dropped back onto the floor. Despite using _ren_ to protect yourself, shock still traveled through your body at the impact, and you groaned. _Damn, those boots have some serious power...!_

The shirtless guy had shot up, clearly more concerned for your well-being than Hatsume, and you sat up, shooting him a thumbs up.

"I'm okay!"

"Are my babies okay?!"

Helping you take the boots off, Hatsume started to inspect the boots, ignoring you completely as you stood up and rubbed the back of your aching neck, slipping on your regular shoes. That honestly didn't end as badly as you expected, and despite the sour ending, for a moment you were floating off the ground with _technology_. 

The man didn't share your thoughts, going to lecture Hatsume immediately. "I know the year just started, but you should know enough to have safeguards in place! If you injured another student, the school — "

You cut him off. It wasn't on purpose, but you couldn't stay quiet as you went over to Hatsume, who was still inspecting her boots out of worry. "That was awesome! I was _floating_! Off the ground! I didn't even think that would ever be possible!"

This caught her attention, and she turned towards you, eyes sparkling as she leaned forwards, face inches away from yours. "Yes! It worked today! With some adjustments, these babies will be perfect!" You agreed with her, nodding enthusiastically as she continued to speak. "I'll work on them right now so you can try them again!"

Even though the repercussions could be dangerous, you figured you could just use your _nen_ to protect yourself from any backfires, so you nodded. "Yeah, yeah! I'll try it again!"

"Not today." The man had interjected, his voice stern and final, leaving no room for arguments. "You've done enough damage and need to head to class."

Hatsume seemed undeterred, and you wondered if she ever got upset. Even though her boots had ultimately failed, she seemed excited and even more determined. Instead, she backed away from you and nodded, a cheery smile still on her face. "Then later! Got it!"

You had a feeling that's not what the man meant, but before he could protest Hatsume was leaving the room, and you quickly followed her out, waving goodbye to him.

"Um, Hatsume? Can you show me where Class 1-A is now..?"

She had clearly forgotten, and she nodded, not saying anything, so you spoke up again. "And also, I know they wound up malfunctioning, but those boots were really cool! Did you make them yourself?"

This got her attention as she turned towards you, the familiar gleam of excitement visible in her eyes. "Yes, yes! I make all of my babies!" You were starting to realize that babies probably meant "inventions", and seeing her get excited about them made you more excited as well as you offered to help her whenever.

"That's awesome! If you ever need another test subject, let me know! I want to help!"

Hatsume grinned at you, her walking slowing slightly. You figured that if it was the start of the school year, she hadn't found many test subjects yet — and if whatever happened yesterday was an indicator, you doubted many people were currently lining up. "I like you," her words were blunt and matter of fact, "who are you?"

_Did she not pay attention when I introduced myself earlier...?_

"Freecss [Y/n]! But we're friends now, right? So call me [Y/n]!"

"Hatsume Mei, my babies will become the most famous inventions ever!"

You had no doubt about that and instead grinned in response. Mei, huh? You had a feeling that you two were going to be great friends.


	5. Auras

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You weren't really cut out for this, but an interesting development takes place.

You and Mei chatted as she showed you to what was Class 1-A. And by chatted, that meant that Mei talked the entire time about her ideas and how she could improve her unnamed boot invention. You didn't understand a lot of what she was talking about, but her enthusiasm was contagious, and you found yourself nodding along.

"This is it! I'll see you after school to test out more of my babies!"

Earlier, you had insisted that you and Mei exchange phone numbers, with the sole promise that she had to call because your reading comprehension in Japanese was terrible. You nodded along, matching her smile. "Yeah, yeah, I just have to make sure my, er, guardian is okay with that! Are you coming in?"

She shook her head. "I'm in the support class, 1-H! See you later!"

With that, she was skipping off before you could give a proper goodbye, and you deflated a bit. Man, you really were hoping you had at least one friend in this class, but it looks like you'd just have to wait to see her again.

Now, you weren't a very anxious person. Much like your friend who you grew up with as practically a little brother, you were pretty easy-going and happy. Not exactly "go-with-the-flow" material, but you certainly didn't worry about the little things. This, however, made you nervous, and you weren't sure why. This was an opportunity to make new friends and meet new people! Besides, you knew Aizawa, so it's not like _everybody_ was a complete stranger in here.

So why were you hesitating?

As if sensing your presence, the large door had opened, revealing the one person you wanted to see.

"You're late."

_As if that's my fault... you left me behind!_

You pouted at him, voicing your thoughts exactly, and he sighed, unamused with your excuse, before telling you to wait a moment as he closed the door on you. Through the door, you could hear him address the class.

"First things first, we have a new transfer student from the United States who will be joining you all today. Freecss, come in."

He sounded so monotone and dead inside, not to mention being called by your last name was _so_ weird. You decidedly did not like it.

Opening the door, all eyes were on you as you stood in front of the class. Most reactions you saw were pleasantly shocked as everybody exclaimed, and you smiled happily, waving a hand. "Uh, hi! I'm Freecss [Y/n], but please call me [Y/n]! It's weird being called by my last name because, you know, it's pretty unusual where I'm from! I look forward to fighting with you all!"

You didn't recognize any faces as you looked over everybody. Not at first, anyways, before your gaze snapped back towards a particularly seething blond. Oh. _Him_. You totally forgot about him, so wrapped up in Mei's antics!

Cheerfully, you waved at him, only provoking him further. "Ah, it's the angry extra guy! Hi again!"

Much like you intended, your comment set him off as he stood up, slamming both hands on his desk and making the others around him jolt in their seats. "What did you say you damned — "

"Bakugou, _sit down_. Freecss, there's an empty seat in the back of the class, so you'll have to sit there."

The angry blond sat down angrily, red eyes attempting to pierce through your very soul as you happily skipped to the back of the class. Everybody else looked shocked at the carefree attitude that you had just displayed towards their violent classmate, but you paid no mind as you sat behind a girl with a black ponytail.

You think that went swimmingly.

Undisturbed with Bakugou's outburst, Aizawa continued on. "As for today, we'll be doing something important." Everybody seemed to hold their breaths, and you leaned forwards in excitement.

_Fight, fight, fight! I wanna fight!!!_

"You need to pick a class president."

_That's unnecessarily boring..._

Everybody else shouted in surprise as you slumped. Why would you care about class president? What was the _point_ in there being a class president?

As everybody was shouting to be picked, one of your classmates stood up, effectively grabbing everybody's attention. "We should put it up to a vote!"

"I don't care what you do, just hurry it up."

 _Way to show your enthusiasm as a teacher,_ you thought sarcastically as some people questioned if that was truly the best way to decide. Despite some light protesting, it was decided, and you eventually found yourself glowering down at the blank piece of paper before you, as if it was the reason for every problem you had. You weren't actually mad at anything, just unsure on what to do.

_I don't know anybody's names, yet..._

Not to mention you couldn't write however everybody else was writing, so you folded your paper and kept it blank as you turned it in to the makeshift voting box at the front. Eventually, all votes were counted for, and you looked at the results with a blank stare. You had _no_ clue what any of that said, but trusted it would be alright. At the very least, you now knew the name of the two who were elected for the council — the class president was some timid looking kid name Izuku Midoriya, and the girl in front of you was elected vice-president. Her name was Momo Yaoyorozu. The rest? You were unsure.

Now that that was settled, regular classes began, and you could feel yourself getting bored. You weren't entirely sure what to expect considering you had never been in school, and all of this sitting still was causing you to get restless — not to mention you had no clue what was written on the board. The only class you felt decent at was English, and that's because you recognized that written language from your world. You weren't proficient by any means, but at least you _recognized_ it. Despite numbers being the same, math was certainly not your strong suit. 

By the time lunch came around, you felt inexplicably exhausted, your brain having overheated a while ago. Seeing everybody start to get up, you stretched your arms above you, sighing in contentment as they popped. Before you could stand up yourself, somebody approached your desk.

"[Y/n], right?"

Standing over you was one of your classmates, with bubblegum-pink skin that uncomfortably reminded you of a certain person's _nen_ ability. Maybe it's best to _not_ think about that creep right now.

Nodding at her words, she spoke up quickly. "I'm Aishido Mina! Since we're using first names though, call me Mina!"

A couple of others had gathered around your desk at the commotion, namely one who was invisible and a frog-like girl as they introduced themselves as Tsuyu and Toru. They all seemed friendly, but Mina gave you an especially familiar feeling of warmth that made you smile at the three. She was so happy and energetic seeming that it almost hurt, but more importantly, her welcoming attitude reminded you a lot of Gon. It was... refreshing.

Standing up, you were about to ask if they all wanted to grab lunch with you, but unfortunately, Aizawa stepped in.

"Freecss."

Looking up at your teacher and guardian, you tilted your head to the side. How was Aizawa a teacher? He looked so tired and like he wanted to be literally _anywhere_ but in this classroom right now.

"You need to go down to the principal's office to discuss your extra lessons," he said, before disappearing to god knows where. He couldn't even _show_ you down to the office?

"Extra lessons?"

Glancing over at Mina, who seemed insanely curious, you let out a heartbroken sigh. There went eating lunch with friends today, but it was for the better — if you didn't learn the written language of this world soon, you were going to be so screwed, and there was no way you'd be able to deal with school.

Not that you planned on telling them about your dilemma. Instead, you quickly said, "I was home-schooled in America and have a hard time reading and writing Japanese, so Mr. Principal is setting me up with extra lessons to get me settled in!"

Understanding filled on Mina's face. "That's so brave to move to a country where you can't read or write!"

Okay, it wasn't _that_ bad, but you opted to not tell Mina that. Bidding goodbye to your classmates for now, you left the room. You only made a _tiny_ oversight — you had no clue where Nezu's office was. Clearly, you didn't really think this through, and this school was eerily easy to get lost in.

You had walked for quite a bit, and you found yourself floundering, trying to figure out what exactly you should do, when a voice broke you out of your thoughts.

"Are you okay?"

You turned around to see a guy and a girl who were taller than you — the girl had lavender hair and a sweet smile on her face, and the boy had black hair and extremely cute pointy ears that you were lowkey jealous of. He was like one of those elf NPCs from Greed Island!

"Um, yes! I need to get to Mr. Principal's office," you explained. It was the girl who had spoken up, and she gave you a kind smile, nodding once.

The boy, on the other hand, seemed to aggressively avoid eye contact with you, choosing not to say anything. You figured he was just shy. "We can show you, it's this way. Why are you heading to Mr. Principal's office? Are you in trouble?" Her voice was sweet, and you knew right away her questions were in earnest. Maybe she was just a curious individual, and you couldn't fault her for that!

Following her, with the black-haired teen lagging behind, you shook your head once. "Not in trouble! I just need help with tutoring, so he's setting that up for me. I'm not from around here."

You had hoped that would have sated her curiosity, but it didn't as she started to ask more questions like "where are you from?" and "school just started, why do you need tutors?". You tried to answer them optimistically to the best of your ability without giving away any confidential information, but you were thankful by the time you had reached the office. While normally you were upbeat and exuberant — and maybe, you could admit, just a _bit_ chaotic and hyper — today had been overwhelming and exhausting. Was school always like this?!

Waving her and her friend goodbye, you knocked on the door once.

_Aw, I forgot to get her name..._

Nezu had opened the door right away, giving you another kind smile as he held the door open to let you in, and without saying anything you entered the office, exhaustion written all over your face. You didn't hesitate to sit down across from him.

Before he could speak, you spoke up first. "I don't think this school-thing is working for me."

Nezu was, understandably, concerned. "It's only the first half of your first day. Are you not fitting in?"

Shaking your head, you finally let the carefree façade slip a bit. In your defense, it _was_ a lot to take in. Less than a week ago, you had been living your normal life with a kid who was like a brother to you and his friend. Now you were in an entirely different world with nobody you knew and no way (that was known) to get back. It was an adventure, and you tried to think of it as a fun experience, but the truth was... You felt lonely. Scared. Frightened. Yeah, you were a hunter, but you were still a teen, so you were validated to feel like this... right? You weren't even sure.

You didn't realize you were crying until you felt a tear run into the corner of your mouth, the salty taste shocking you as you raised your hands up to your eyes and wiped at them. Nezu said nothing, instead pushing a tissue box over to you. You didn't hesitate to take a tissue to wipe at your eyes, internally calming yourself. You felt lonely, but you _weren't_ alone. You had Aizawa, and Nezu, and even that detective guy! Not to mention Mei and Mina and the other friends you recently made.

"I'm sorry," you apologized hoarsely, sniffling. "It's just... It's overwhelming. I can't even read or write the same language as you guys. My entire identity has to be kept a secret, and I have to constantly worry about slipping up and lying to my friends, and I can't _stand_ sitting still all day and I just — " you hiccupped, interrupting your rambling and messy words, and you violently wiped at your eyes again to ensure no more tears escaped. The principal across from you gave you a look of pity, and you could tell the gears were turning sharply behind his brain. You felt bad. Him and Aizawa were doing _so_ much for you. Was it ungrateful to not want to be here?

Finally, Nezu spoke, his voice calm. "Maybe we should have waited for you to get accustomed to this world before enrolling you. I might have been a bit too hasty in getting you under U.A.'s wing."

You shook your head again at his words. "No. Sitting around doing nothing would make it worse. It sucks, and it's hard, but I have to do this." Besides, if Leorio could go to _medical_ school which was notoriously hard, you could handle regular high school, right?

Slowly, your mood started to change as that thought intruded in your mind. It _would_ be hard, but you had to get through this. Where was that drive you had when becoming a hunter? This was no different! To become a hero in this world, you had to get past this. Sure, you might not be here long enough to get it done, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't give it your 100% all!

Nezu didn't seem entirely convinced but wasn't going to argue with you about your education either if you were willing to still try. "If you're determined to stay, you'll need to take extra lessons before and after school. I have somebody in mind, an older student who is willing to help you out, but you'll have to study twice — "

He was cut off, but it wasn't by you. Interrupting the principal was a loud, blaring siren, and you jumped at the loud noise, putting your hands over your ears. What the hell was that?! Nezu glanced at his computer, sighing at what he apparently saw on the monitor before getting up. Even standing up, with you sitting down, he was still shorter by a foot.

"What's going on?" You asked hesitantly, removing your hands from your ears. The noise was almost unbearable, and you winced. Was there a fire? Was it a fire alarm? Before Nezu could say anything, an automated voice came over the intercom system, overriding the sound of the alarm (although not by much).

" _There has been a level 3 security breach. All students please evacuate outdoors promptly._ "

Although you couldn't hear it over the ear-piercing ringing, you saw Nezu sigh. "Somehow, the reporters got in. Stay in here, Miss [Y/n], while I go help the other teachers deal with this."

You nodded in agreement, and as you watched Nezu leave, you swore you heard him mutter, "I hope the students aren't panicking too bad..."

With that, the door shut, leaving you in the office, stuck with the irritating noise. You weren't really sure what to do. You guess you could dick around on your phone, but you honestly weren't a fan of the new technology you now had in your possession. You didn't want to leave the office though!

"I guess I could practice my _en_..."

Getting out of your chair to sit cross-legged on the floor, you tried to block out the blaring alarm as you closed your eyes, immediately activating your _en_ to try and stretch the radius. You could only go out out about 30 meters from yourself at the moment, and you tried your best to push it out further. Within the radius, you could feel the movements of everybody, and you were reminded of how _different_ this world was.

Much like your home world, everybody had an aura. After all, it was the life force of people, so that wasn't surprising, but it was _different_ at the same time. Maybe it had something to do with quirks here, or possibly just it being a different dimension, but you could tell everybody was different from the way their aura was... shaped, you guess? Even you had a hard time distinguishing it. You just knew it was different, and you weren't really sure on how to describe it.

From what you could tell, everybody was running around. The floors below you were filled with panicked movements, and you gritted your teeth as you kept your _nen_ up, a bead of sweat running down your forehead.

 _Can't give up, gotta keep going, can't give up, gotta keep going_.

You chanted this in your head like a mantra, and just as you were starting to slip, you felt a peculiarity in your little circle of _en_. Contradicting the panicked movements of everybody else, there were calm movements heading to your position. They were brisk, but with a purpose. Was it Nezu?

Before you could stop your _en_ , you picked up another movement, just on the outside of your radius from the opposite direction of the calm person, causing you to jolt.

You let go in an instant, standing up and ripping the door open, panting slightly from the amount of energy you had been exerting as you tore down the halls towards that second presence.

There was no doubt about that presence you just detected.

 _There's no denying it... that was another_ nen _user...!_


	6. Close Calls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You were unable to find the nen user, but all hope isn't lost.

School shoes pounding on the smooth flooring, you ran down the hallway with a purpose, eyes frantically searching. You weren't experienced enough yet to use _en_ while moving, but you had a feeling you would recognize the _nen_ user upon sight. It wasn't that you were intuitive, because you weren't, but this presence felt familiar in a way that made your heart rate pick up.

Turning the corner, you nearly bumped into somebody, quickly side stepping. They were wearing a black hoodie that covered their face so you couldn't tell who it was. Not Nezu, but you were certain they were the first person you detected, the calm person from before. Definitely not the _nen_ user, though. They were probably just another teacher, and you didn't bother to give them a second glance or so much as a muttered 'sorry' before you were running again.

The implications of another _nen_ user being here didn't go past you. There were two options — one, _nen_ _was_ accessible to people here, and just not wildly acknowledged. It was possible, with there being quirks, that some people could develop _nen_ and pass it off as a quirk, but you felt like it would still _feel_ different.

The other option? Somebody else from your world was here. You desperately hoped for the latter, as if somebody else from your world was here, that meant there could be a solid way to travel between the two worlds. It was a massive clue to help you get home!

Skidding to a stop, you scanned the empty halls before closing your eyes again, a hand up to your chest to try and calm yourself as you focused again. It was hard — you were running low on energy, and using _en_ took a hell of a lot out of you, but your determination and adrenaline won out over the tiredness you were feeling as your _en_ slowly extended again. It was still there, heading towards the edge of your radius and away from you now. A floor below you and heading towards what you thought was the school entrance in slow, calculated movements.

Could this person sense you?

Letting it go, you took a moment to catch your breath, wiping at your forehead, before taking off again. You skipped the steps two at a time, nearly slipping at the end but not caring as you attempted to catch up to the person.

 _Come_ on _[Y/n], you can't let this person get away!_

Soon enough you were near the entrance, pushing violently through the hordes of students who were attempting to leave. The alarm had stopped, but you hadn't noticed the lack of noise through the yelling of everybody.

Searching through these people would be like a needle in a haystack, and if you stopped to try and extend your _en_ again, you would more likely than not be trampled to death by panicked teenagers. You needed to get through the crowd, and quickly.

Shoving everybody out of your way without any regards, you eventually made it outside and quickly broke off from the others, once again scanning the area. You were on your last leg of energy, but you figured you had enough for one more extension of _en_ , and you squeezed your eyes shut, extending it. You could barely get up to 15 meters this time, but it was enough as you felt the familiar aura move towards the gate before disappearing all together.

"No!"

You hadn't realized you shouted out loud as your eyes snapped open. Disregarding the looks you got from some nearby students, you bolted towards the front gate. Or at least, where the gate _was_.

When you got there, besides some teachers and the reporters being ushered out, there wasn't anybody, and you could feel your heart sink with disappointment. You didn't have enough energy to try using _en_ again, and it was clear that nobody here was a _nen_ user. The gate, on the other hand, sat in a pile of ash, and you only eyed it for a moment before your shoulders had slumped.

You were so _close_! It was infuriating and disappointing, not to mention you felt like you had almost been played. The entire time, the presence had stayed just outside of your radius, as if it were leading you to something...

. . . Or away. You hadn't realized it, but you had left Nezu's office, where you had been instructed to stay. What if the presence was trying to lead you away from the school? You didn't know why it would do that, but you also weren't going to figure anything out for now with your aura and stamina almost completely depleted.

You were frustrated to the point of tears and didn't realize somebody had approached you until a familiar paw was placed on your arm and you looked down to see Nezu. A couple other teachers looked over at you as well, including Aizawa and Present Mic (who was your English teacher).

"Why are you out here, Miss [Y/n]?"

Nezu's voice wasn't accusatory, just curious, and you pursed your lips, desperate to keep your tears in. You couldn't tell Nezu and Aizawa about the presence you had sensed. At least, not outright considering there were others within earshot. Struggling to find the right words, exhaustion rolling over you in a big wave, you tried to think of a vague way to explain,

"I... Somebody like _me_ was here. I wanted to find them," you said, [e/c] eyes meeting your current guardian's. Aizawa and Nezu exchanged looks of understanding, before Nezu turned back to you.

"We'll keep an eye out, but why don't you head back to class with Aizawa-sensei?"

You didn't want to go. You wanted to search with Nezu, to figure this out, but you had a feeling that whoever was here was long gone. Sighing in resignation, you nodded. You were much too tired to argue, anyways.

Following Aizawa back, neither of you attempted conversation as you head back to class 1-A, only one thought clouding your mind.

Who had you sensed?

The rest of the day went by painstakingly slow. Having missed lunch, you were distracted partially by the day's earlier find and partially by your growling stomach.

Once everybody had convened back in 1-A, having calmed down from the lunchtime fiasco, class president was given over to the glasses guy (Tenya Iida, you learned his name was) by Izuku. After that, class resumed as normal, but you found yourself not paying attention to any of that.

By the end of the day, you were ready to go home, but knew you were going to be stuck for the next hour doing extra lessons. It couldn't be helped, you had a lot to catch up on, but it didn't change the fact that you wanted nothing more than to go home and eat a gigantic dinner.

"Hey, [Y/n], what's it like over in America? It's so cool you could travel here for U.A.!"

Mina and Toru had been kind enough to walk you to the designated classroom you were supposed to be tutored in (two guys offered too, one with hair that reminded you of grapes and the other blond with a black streak in it, but Mina had loudly declared "no boys!" before dragging you off), most likely to get more answers from you, and you shrugged, smiling sheepishly at the two girls. "It's okay. Really casual! Not to mention that America has a higher, um, crime rate. Everything seems to be so organized and lawful here."

Mina made a finger gun motion, mimicking the 'pew pew' sounds. "Is it as lawless as those cowboy movies on T.V.?"

 _What the_ fuck _is a cowboy...?_

Laughing nervously, you shook your head. "You shouldn't believe everything you see on T.V.! It's pretty similar to here, just a higher villain rate."

Toru bounced, her skirt floating up for a moment. "I heard America is really dangerous! Did you deal with any villains back home?"

 _That_ was something you could talk about with certainty; you'd just have to change a few things. "Oh, yeah. Back in York — New York City, my brother, friends and I ran into a really dangerous villain gang called the Phantom Troupe. They don't exist online, but they are _way_ too strong. I hope to never see them again."

And, honestly, if you didn't find a way back soon that would be a _very_ real possibility.

The two seemed to only get more excited as they pestered you about your brother and the Phantom Troupe, and you did your best to share as much as you could without seeming suspicious until you reached classroom 3-A. Waving goodbye to your two new friends, you walked in, seeing a familiar girl sitting at one of the desks. Upon hearing you walk in, she looked up.

"It's you from before?!"

"Ah, it's tutor girl!"

The two of you exclaimed at the same time, you baffled and her cheery. Laughing slightly at your rudeness, you sat down next to her, blue eyes staring you down.

"Um, sorry about that. I'm [Y/n] Freecss — er, Freecss [Y/n]!" You slumped at the mistake. "Eh, it's been a long day..."

The girl laughed, unbothered by the slip-up. "Don't worry, Mr. Nezu told me about your situation. I'm Nejire Hado, but you can call me Jire-chan if I can call you [Y/n]-chan?"

Nezu told her of your situation...?

". . . How much did Mr. Principal tell you?"

"Everything!"

Nodding once, you almost let it slide before it hit you. "E-everything?!"

Nejire nodded, bright smile still on her face. "Yes! He told me everything, so it'd be easier to teach you. Nobody else knows though, don't worry!"

You slowly relaxed. You didn't feel entirely comfortable with having another person know your secret, but Nejire seemed trustworthy and kind enough where you could trust her to not tell anybody else. If Nezu trusted her, that meant you could too, right? 

Introductions aside, the two of you quickly delved into lessons, first focusing on you learning how to read and write before Nejire had an idea, instructing you to write out the alphabet for your language. Her reasoning was that it might be similar to another language in this world, and as you sounded off the alphabet for her, you soon found out that her theory was correct.

Watching her scribble a bit on a blank piece of paper, she held it up for you to look at. It didn't make any sense to you, but she was beaming as if she had just solved all of your problems.

"This is Japanese katakana. It's the exact same as your alphabet, but with different characters!"

She went over them with you, and surprisingly, she was correct! Taking the paper from her, you wrote the characters from your world's language next to each character, the sounds matching up. This made it so much easier!

". . . It's one of the three alphabets we use here, along with kanji and hiragana!"

_Aw, dang it._

You didn't see why a language would need _three separate alphabets_ , but you didn't have a choice but to learn all of them and how to write it if you wanted to fit in, and that's what you and Nejire spent the rest of your session doing. It felt silly to be practicing the alphabet like a toddler, but it was needed, and by the end of the session, you were able to write your name. It was sloppy, nowhere near looking as fluid and pretty as Nejire's handwriting, but it was progress!

Shuffling the papers in your school bag for you to study, both of you stood up, with you stretching your arms above your head to give your shoulders a satisfying 'pop'.

"Thanks again for all of this, Jire!"

She nodded, patting you on the head as if you were a little child. "Of course! We'll be doing this almost every day, so I'm sure we'll be great friends!"

Her cheeriness had easily uplifted your own mood throughout the tutoring session, and you grinned happily up at her. "I hope so!" 

Throughout the tutoring session, the two of you had also had casual conversations, mostly with her asking about _nen_ and your world and with you explaining stuff to the best of your ability. She didn't act shocked at all, just intrigued, and you could tell she was eating up all of the information you were telling her. You didn't blame her — you were like that when learning about quirks and how this world worked, after all. It was new and interesting, and you were just thankful she didn't act skeptically towards you at all, instead taking your existence with curiosity.

Leaving the classroom, she continued to ask questions about your old world, and you responded in kind, asking questions when you were given the opening. You had just finished telling her about the Phantom Troupe and the mafia when the two of you made it to the school's entrance (a makeshift gate replacing the previous one for the time being).

"Your world certainly seems lawless. Nobody was able to catch that Ghost Group?"

" _Phantom Troupe_ , and nope. My friend killed two of them, but the rest got away." The words came out casually even with the mention of two deaths. Another strange difference in this world, you supposed. You were so desensitized to death from your world that you didn't really pause to think about how in this world, filled with so many laws and regulations, that even villain deaths weren't as common. Nejire didn't comment on this though, instead humming in thought as you two said your goodbyes and parted ways.

Finally heading home, you let out a sigh of relief. Today was long and stressful, but at least tomorrow would be better! With that thought in mind, you skipped to Aizawa's apartment, with the thoughts of the _nen_ user from earlier now only lingering in the back of your head.


	7. Field Trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your first field trip! You get to know your classmates and have lots of fun — wait, who is that?

_"Chrollo? How is he in the game if he doesn't have_ nen _?"_

_You had only been gone for an hour when you had reconvened with your friends again. This development was quite startling, but Gon shook his head. "It's somebody else using Chrollo's name!"_

_"But who...?"_

_As you pondered, Killua had added on that the two had already called Kurapika, and Kurapika himself confirmed that Chrollo was_ nenless _. That, then, begged the question — who was posing as Chrollo? It could be another Troupe member, or even just some random stranger. Whatever it was, it only spelled trouble. That was something all of you could agree on._

_Bemused, you had a few suggestions. "If it isn't a Troupe member, my bet is Hisoka. He's exactly the type of person who would pose as the leader of the Phantom Troupe," who had offered up, but your idea was shot down. Why would Hisoka be in Greed Island? It didn't seem like Hisoka's style, but then again, Hisoka was a very flimsy and whimsical person._

_Killua strongly disagreed with you. "Whatever. As long as we avoid whoever the false Chrollo is, then we're fine."_

_You and Gon agreed, and decided to drop it for the time being, but you couldn't help but be curious. If Chrollo still didn't have access to his_ nen _, what was he doing?_ Nen _exorcists, while rare,_ did _exist, and you couldn't help but wonder... Just how long did you all have until Chrollo had his_ nen _again?_

_"What are you guys doing? Get back to work!"_

_Wincing at Bisky's loud voice, the three of you quickly scrambled back to your_ nen _exercises to avoid her wrath._

* * *

Jolting upwards, you rubbed the sleep from your eyes as you thought back on your dream of what had happened before you were ejected from your world. You missed your friends greatly and couldn't help but wish for a way to get back to your world. If you could jump between the two places at will it would be fine, but you couldn't. No matter how you looked at it, you were stuck.

Sighing, you picked up your phone to see if you had any notifications (you didn't), only to gasp at the time.

"Shit! I'm gonna be late!"

You had missed your morning tutoring session and would be seconds away from being late to regular classes if you didn't get your ass in gear! 

Haphazardly pulling on your school uniform, you stormed into the kitchen, completely frazzled. A note lay on the dining room table, and you grabbed it, grimacing at Aizawa's scrawled handwriting.

' _Had to go in early, you should be able to get to U.A. by yourself' . . . As if!! He just abandoned me!_

Scrunching the piece of paper and shoving it into your bag, you didn't give yourself any more time to complain, dashing out of the apartment, only to go back and quickly lock the door. Ensuring it was secure, you then were off, running to campus and weaving through the crowds of people. If you were late for a second time in the row, guardian or not, Aizawa would _kill_ you!

Thank the gods for the Hunter Exam. Sprinting the distance from Aizawa's apartment to U.A. was a breeze, especially while using _nen_ to boost your speed. Just by a bit, though — you figured your guardian would not be too pleased if you got in trouble for publicly using your "quirk". 

You slammed open the class door, hair frizzy and eyes open wide. Your sudden appearance had made those closest to the door jump, and you bowed deeply, Aizawa's unimpressed glare on your form.

"I'm sorry! I woke up late!"

Your apology didn't faze your teacher in the slightest, who just sighed and said, "Just get to your seat, Freecss."

Quick to sit down, you combed your fingers through your hair, trying to retain some semblance of neatness as Aizawa mentioned the plans for the day. You had assumed it'd be more boring schoolwork, but your ears and head perked up at the words "rescue simulation". Finally, some action! You couldn't stand periods of stagnancy in your own world, so sitting around all day absolutely bored you!

Bouncing up and down in your seat, you nearly shot up when Aizawa dismissed you all so you all could go outside and board the bus that would apparently take you to where you would be fighting. You would have flown out of the classroom completely, if it weren't for people approaching you again — specifically, Mina and three others, a boy with red hair and sharp teeth, a black-haired boy with weird looking elbows, and the boy who offered to help you yesterday, the one with blond hair. It was the blond that spoke first, all casual and confident.

"[Y/n]! This is you, right?"

You leaned back as a cellphone was shoved towards you, and your eyes flickered in interest at the video he was trying to show you before you had stilled, lips thinning. Hurdling through the sky at an alarming rate was what looked to be a lifeless body — one you recognized immediately as yourself. As your body impacted the ground, the person holding the camera ran closer, somebody shouting for help in the background as the camera zoomed in on an area dense with smoke.

Soon, the smoke cleared, and you winced, glad for the lower quality video. In the middle of a crater laid your body. You were breathing, obviously, but you were all bloody and you were certain that was a _bone_ sticking out of your leg. Suddenly, the camera cut out, and your eyebrows raised up high in light of this new information. You weren't even sure where to start. Yeah, your _hatsu_ enhanced your healing, but _that_... That was intense, not to mention you were surprised at how the blond had even gotten the video! The reporters had recognized you yesterday, as well... Just how many people have seen this video?!

Clearing your throat, you decided to play it cool, giving the three a crooked smile. "Yep! But I'm okay, now!" Gesturing to yourself and showing you had no injuries, you had started to walk around them to get to the door, the three following you and ambushing you with questions.

"That's insane, what exactly happened?!" Mina asked, and you laughed slightly, shrugging. _I came out of a portal from another world and wound up here, it's fine!_ Yeah, like that would go down well. Thank the gods that you were prepared for this exact question.

"I don't remember it all, but when I first moved to Japan, I ran into a villain and, well... You can kind of see the result of _that_. Talk about unlucky,” you complained, leaning back in your seat. "The villain hasn't been apprehended yet, though, and I can't remember his appearance or voice, so... Everything is at a dead-end. If you guys don't mind, though, can we not talk about this anymore? It's still pretty recent...." You managed to make your voice sound quieter as you looked down, and the guys seemed to realize how rude it was to ask about something that was potentially traumatic.

"I'm sorry for bringing up a bad memory, but you healed from that quick, that's pretty manly! I'm Kirishima Eijirou, by the way." He seemed friendly, and while excited, was probably the most subdued of the bunch, but...

_I'm... manly . . . ?_

The weird elbow guy was next to introduce himself. "I'm Sero Hanta, it's nice to meet you!"

The blond caught on and introduced himself too. "Oh, I'm Kaminari Denki, but a cutie like you can call me anytime — _ack!_ "

Having caught up with the class, a girl with headphone jacks had quickly jabbed at Denki, cutting him off from his flirting. She sent you an apologetic glance. "I apologize on his behalf, Freecss, he's been like that with everybody here. I'm Jirou Kyoka, by the way."

Nodding, you smiled at your little group. "It's nice to meet you all! Since we're friends, you can call me [Y/n], no need for that last name stuff!"

You missed the blush that had graced some of the guys' faces, your attention being diverted to Tenya, who was currently yelling at everybody to line up and board the bus in an orderly fashion. _Haha, he's like a mom._

You decided not to argue and just went with the flow as all of you boarded the bus. The layout was a bit weird, and you wound up sitting in between Denki and another blond — which lasted for a very short moment, as the moment Denki tried to put his arm around you in a smooth manner, you got up and sat across from him and in between Tsuyu and Eijirou, completely ignoring him as he pouted and Hanta laughed at the failure.

"You're not wearing your hero outfit?" Eijirou asked you as you sat back down, and you shrugged, shaking your head. Like you had enough time to come up with a hero outfit yet!

"It's not done," you explained, "so I'm stuck in gym clothes. But that's fine!"

You didn't mind, and in all honesty, would probably be wearing regular clothes as your "hero outfit". You didn't need anything extravagant, you never wore anything fancy when fighting back in your world, so why did you need it now?

Eijirou nodded in understanding, and didn't say anything else as Tsuyu spoke up, loud enough for everybody else to hear. "Midoriya. You know, I say everything on my mind," she started facing the curly-haired kid next to her who seemed startled at being spoken to — if you remembered correctly, that was Izuku, the kid who stepped down from being the class president.

"Asui?"

"Call me Tsu. Anyways, I've noticed your power is a lot like All Might's."

Izuku seemed alarmed, and you cocked your head. All Might... That was the elusive pro hero you _still_ haven't met. You would admit, you _had_ looked him up, and he was buff. In comparison to your world with his position and apparent power, you kind of compared him to Netero, the head chairman of the Hunter's Association, but you were entirely certain Netero could obliterate All Might. He may be old, but that old man has some spunk.

Before Izuku could respond, Eijirou butted in, pondering over the situation too. You hadn't seen Izuku's ability to really compare him to All Might, and wondered briefly what you had missed before you enrolled into U.A. Was it possible everybody has fought before, already?!

"Yeah, but All Might doesn't get hurt when using his quirk."

Others nodded in agreement, and you hummed, glancing over at Izuku. Damn, if he got hurt every time he used his ability, that was a major drawback. "You should work on that, if you get hurt every time you try to use your quirk, you won't last long in a fight!"

What had been meant as encouraging apparently did not come out so as Izuku drooped, muttering something you couldn't quite catch underneath his breath, and the others continued to talk about quirks. You resigned yourself to just listening — it's not like you could really give your input, considering you hadn't seen anybody fight! Hopefully, today would change all that!

"Yeah, even though we've just met, it's no surprise to anybody that your personality is trash steeped in sewage."

 _Damn, Denki_.

As the spiky blond (who you had determined was Katsuki Bakugou) blew up, you couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Ain't that the truth! I just met you and can say for certain that you seem like an asshole!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY, YOU DAMNED FOREIGNER?!"

Everybody else seemed to take it lightheartedly, laughing, and Eijirou turned towards you as you all simultaneously blocked out Katsuki. "Say, [Y/n], what's your quirk? You arrived late, so nobody has seen it, besides that one video on ViewTube!"

Cringing at the mention of that god forsaken video. you debated on telling them for a moment but weren't sure how to explain it. Instead, you gave a friendly wink. "It's a my~ster~y~! You'll just have to wait and see how strong it is when we all fight!" 

Katsuki scoffed. "Yeah right, I bet it's pathetic."

Before you could snap with a retort (which you were deciding between "no it isn't, asshole!" and "shut up, you walnut!"), the bus came to a stop, and Aizawa asked you all to basically shut up and get off the bus. Listening, all of you filed off and gathered outside of the large, dome-like building.

Already waiting for you all was somebody in a puffy suit. Was that their _hero_ suit? It looked pretty difficult to fight in, but Hisoka fought in stiletto heels, so maybe you shouldn't judge. 

Everybody gathering, soon the talking died down and the newcomer held up a hand. Beside you, Izuku had exclaimed, "That's Thirteen, the Space Hero!" before going off on a small tangent on who exactly they were.

Not a name you recognized, and you had _so_ many questions, but figured it would be best to ask later. Like how are they a space hero? Why do they look like a giant marshmallow with a helmet? Unfortunately, you had no time to ask anyways as Thirteen started to speak anyways, their voice slightly obscured, as if they were talking through a walkie talkie. Yeah. You definitely had some questions.

"Let's go inside without delay," Thirteen said, and you all followed them inside. Immediately, your face lit up — and you weren't the only one. Despite being in a building, it still felt you were outside, with various disaster zones scattered everywhere. It was unreal, like a giant fighting playground! Oh, Gon and Killua would have a blast here, you couldn't wait to show them!

Oh... _yeah._

Tuning back in, Thirteen started to list off the various sections. "A shipwreck, disaster zone, a landslide, a fire, a windstorm, and etcetera. This is a training ground I made with different types of accidents and disasters, which I call the "Unforeseen Simulation Joint", or "USJ" for short!"

While the acronym fell lost on you, with the rest of your classmates feeling exasperated to some degree of the comparison to Universal Studios Japan, you bounced on your heels excitedly. You could spend all day in here. Hell, you could spend all week in here! Messing around in different disaster zones, practicing your _nen_ , living off the wild (already had you forgotten that you were technically in a building) — it was a dream come true!

"Oh, oh, when can we start! I wanna try out the landslide zone first!" You were bubbling with excitement, and Thirteen glanced over at you.

"There's still a bit more to talk about . . ."

Ignoring your outburst, Aizawa had walked up to them, his voice dropping. Immediately, you activated your _gyo_ , putting concentration into your ears to be able to hear what he was saying. You knew eavesdropping was bad but, in your defense, whispering in front of people was pretty rude.

"Thirteen, where's All Might? He was supposed to meet us here."

Ah, yes, the elusive hero you _still_ haven't met yet. You were getting insanely curious, only having watched videos of him, you wanted to know what he was really like!

"Ah, well, about that... He apparently did too much hero work on his way here and ran out of time..."

Well, whatever _that_ meant. You weren't going to dwell on it too hard, honestly, too excited just to get this ball rolling so you could get out there. 

Aizawa finally stepped to the side, letting Thirteen address your group again. "Well everybody, before I begin, I have one thing to say... or two... or three... or four..."

You groaned. Why did the list start going up so suddenly?!

"Everyone, I'm sure you are aware of my quirk, Black Hole." _You_ weren't, but it's not like you were going to say anything about it right now and interrupt the class. You just wanted this explanation over with so you could get into the nitty-gritty stuff. "I can use my quirk to suck up anything and turn it to dust." Okay, now _that_ was awesome.

Izuku was the first to speak up, seeming as excited as you, but for a different reason as he started to geek out over Thirteen's quirk, a short, brown-haired girl jumping up and down next to him. "You've been able to use that power to save people from all sorts of disasters, right?"

Thirteen nodded. "Yes. But it's also a power that can easily kill. Some of you also have quirks like that, right?"

You paused in your excitement, mulling over the hero's words. Thirteen was right — with both quirks and _nen_. If used wrong, it _could_ kill somebody. You were pretty desensitized to death, having seen some bloody shit back in your world, but it didn't change the fact that you, personally, didn't want to actually have to kill anybody. You were an enhancer, though. If you truly gave your all, focusing _ren_ on your fist when punching somebody, you could possibly kill them. This fact wasn't lost on you. While inadvertently you had helped _cause_ death (you did, after all, assist Kurapika when he had placed judgement chain on Pakunoda, which led to her own demise; that's not to mention the one criminal you accidentally threw off the edge in Trick Tower, but that was a total accident!), it wasn't something you did consciously. Not like the Phantom Troupe, or Kurapika, or Hisoka. 

In short, you'd have to be conscious of using your _nen_ ability. In a world without _nen_ , using your own abilities wrongly would cause much more damage than good, not to mention put your identity at risk.

"That is all. Thank you for listening."

Tuning back in, you realized with a start that you had missed a majority of Thirteen's speech while you had been thinking over your _nen_ abilities. Whoops. In your defense, you already had fought in life threatening situations so many times that you knew that you couldn't use your power so recklessly. You weren't an _idiot_.

As everybody cheered, you glanced back down at your fists, humming, before feeling a pair of eyes on you. Looking around, you noticed the one guy nearby who had his eyes zeroed in on you, and you had to do a doubletake on his appearance. Half red, half white, with ice covering his left side. Was... that _real?_ He seemed like he was glaring at you and you couldn't figure out _why_. What was this dude's problem? Hoping to diffuse whatever negative feelings that he was trying to direct at you, you flashed a peace sign, and he scowled and turned away.

_Damn, that was rude._

It was best not to dwell on his behavior, for now, but he was definitely making it on your ass-kicking list for this world (in which Katsuki was number one, currently).

When the cheering died down, Aizawa started to speak. "Alright then. First — "

As if on cue, the power surged, and your eyes were immediately drawn to the black hole appearing by a fountain. It stuck out like a sore thumb, and you visibly winced at the familiar looking portal. That was almost exactly similar as to what had sent you hurdling into this world, and you took a step back, cringing. You didn't have to ask — whatever was about to go down, wasn't going to be good.

_So much for having a better day._


	8. Bird Brain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting separated from your classmates put stress on everybody. While trying to get back to the center of it all, though, something catches your attention... And it's not good.

"Has the simulation already started?!"

Glancing over at Eijirou, you couldn't help the frown that was on your face. This feeling was definitely not a good one, leaving you with only one solid guess — these guys were villains. 

Aizawa had shouted at Thirteen to gather you all and don't move, and you finally got past the initial shock, stepping forward. This was your chance to shine! Unlike your peers, you had the combat experience. If you could face off with the Phantom Troupe and _survive_ (not that you _actually_ fought them, but...) then you could handle anything! Besides, you weren't going to let your guardian fight on his own. Running away would be cowardly, damned be the consequences!

Taking another step forward, you realized you weren't the only one. Izuku and Eijirou went to move as well, but Aizawa had quickly shot you guys down. "Don't move! Those are villains."

While everybody had frozen up at his exclamation, you ignored him, taking another step behind him. You wouldn't just charge into the situation — as much as you'd _like_ to, there were too many others here, and you had a feeling your two teachers wouldn't appreciate that kind of reckless behavior from you. Still, your mind was made up. You couldn't just let yourself be ushered to safety. Besides, you wanted a good fight, right? While this wasn't _exactly_ what you had in mind, you were still feeling pumped. _Nen_ far outranked quirks, and you were excited to show off your skills and have a good challenge.

 _It's fine if I go just a_ little _overboard since they're villains, right...?_

There were a lot of them, sure, but you had an overabundance of confidence that you could take them on.

It was tense, and your eyes focused on one person in particular who felt vaguely familiar. He had on a black hoodie, with disembodied hands all over him, and you squinted, trying to recall where you had seen him from.

"Thirteen and Eraserhead, huh? The teacher's schedule we obtained the other day said that All Might was supposed to be here."

You _thought_ the voice was coming from the misty portal thing, which had a vaguely shaped head, but couldn't be entirely positive. However, his words struck a chord in both you and Aizawa as your teacher gritted his teeth.

"Yesterday's trespassing was the work of these scumbags after all, huh?"

Oh _shit_ , that was the guy you had passed in the hallway when you had sensed the _nen_! You had thought it was weird how cool and calm his movements had been but had been so wrapped up in the other _nen_ user that you hadn't stopped to question it at all. Hell, you had nearly bumped _into_ him. Could you have prevented this if you had stayed in Nezu's office like you were ordered?! Gritting your teeth, you glowered. You had been played. It was also possible that you were being led away on purpose to give the villain enough time to get what he needed.

Gah, you were such a fool! To believe there was another _nen_ user in this world was preposterous, and yet... You couldn't deny the immense disappointment you felt. You had really hoped somebody else had found a way here and that you were going to have a way out of this place.

 _But then... how would they have known to use_ nen _to lead me away from Nezu's office? Am I overthinking? Agh, this makes no sense!_

You were starting to confuse yourself, and you quickly slapped your own cheeks to put some sense back into yourself. _Fight now, worry later! You can discuss this with Aizawa and Nezu_ after _these bozos are taken care of!_

The next voice to speak was different, and though you couldn't see his face, you knew it was coming from the hand guy. _There's gotta be a joke in here somewhere about those hands... Oh, a hand j-_

"All Might... where is he? And I took the trouble of bringing this crowd here... Maybe he'll come if we kill some kids."

As the villains approached, you tensed, perking up slightly as your peers behind you had started to murmur in disbelief. You ignored them in favor of your teacher, your eyes trained on his back.

"I'm fighting with you. I've faced enough life-or-death situations back in my own home that I can handle a couple of low-tier dumbasses," you told him, voice set. You _wouldn't_ take 'no' for an answer. Anyways, Aizawa would be crazy to not let you fight, he had heard of your abilities, and having a _nen_ user fight alongside him would be super benefic-

"No."

Nearly falling over in disbelief, you furrowed your eyebrows, fists clenching in dismay. "And why not?! You can't fight by yourself!"

Aizawa didn't glance back at you. "Help Thirteen get the other students out of here. Capable or not, you're still a student under protection of U.A.." You slumped at his words, but before you could try to argue even more, he was walking towards the other pro-hero. "Thirteen, start evacuating the students. Try contacting the school — these villains even had something to counteract the sensors. It's possible somebody with radio-wave-type powers is interfering. Kaminari, you try contacting the school with your quirk, too."

Izuku protested. "What about you, sir? Will you fight by yourself? With that many, even if you can erase their quirks...! Eraserhead's fighting style is capturing after erasing the enemy's quirk. A head-on battle is..."

You nodded along. Izuku got it! "Izuku is right, let me help!"

This caused the green-haired teen to stutter, not that you really paid much attention to that. "I-I-Izuku..?!"

Aizawa shook his head. "Freecss, you need to focus on helping Thirteen. Anyways, heroes aren't one trick ponies."

With that said, Aizawa was off to fight, and you were left clenching your fists and gritting your teeth at the fact that you had been so easily brushed aside. You weren't going to go after him, though. As much as you _wanted_ to, you were afraid you'd only distract him and make things worse. For now, you would just have to listen to him, even when you really didn't want to.

Turning to Thirteen, you nodded once, a resigned expression on your face. "Alright, let's get this show on a roll, I guess."

You were surprised that everybody cooperated, especially Katsuki, who seemed like he wanted nothing more than to kick somebody's (hopefully a villain's) ass. There was no time for contemplating on it, though, as you all were _so_ close, you could _see_ the entrance, and then... Blocked. The mist from before enveloped the entrance, revealing the portal guy from before. _Great_.

"Greetings. We are the League of Villains, and have took it upon ourselves to infiltrate U.A. in order to find All Might... I was under the impression he'd be here. No matter, as it is my role to scatter you students and torture you to death."

With a blast, Katsuki and Eijirou had quickly leapt forward, the mist-man dodging the attacks casually. Thirteen had yelled for them to stop, but to no avail, and before you had time to react, the mist spread out, enveloping everyone. You tried to back up, not knowing what the hell that mist was, but it was too late, and soon it enveloped you too, sending you plunging — _again_ — through darkness.

Honestly, you weren't sure you could get used to the feeling of being teleported. It wasn't pleasant, especially when it seemed to always happen when you weren't expecting it. Tensing up, you were fully prepared to fall through the sky again, but thankfully, that wasn't the case. A small blessing. Instead, you landed on your feet in a new area, a jolt of shock traveling up your legs from the harsh landing. At least it wasn't too bad, so you couldn't complain.

"Where...?"

Taking in your new surroundings, you smiled wryly as recognition danced across your features from the partially covered buildings and dirt everywhere. Well, not exactly what you had in mind when you were talking about the landslide zone earlier, but at least your wish had come true... sort of?

"This is the landslide zone."

Startled, you whirled around, relaxing slightly when you recognized the kid who glared at you earlier, half-hot and half-cold due to his weird color scheme. Unfortunately, you couldn't stop the words that left your lips in a rude manner. "Um, who are you again?"

Heterochromatic eyes stared at you for a moment, his expression stoic and giving nothing away. Damn, he was a tough nut to crack. "Todoroki Shouto."

Nodding, you cracked your knuckles. "Well, Shouto," you started, ignoring the way his face hardened at your familiar use of his first name, "I say we -- _hey!_ "

Ducking, you just managed to evade some asshole who tried to attack you, fingernails long enough to cut somebody. You didn't hesitate to bring your leg up, kicking him backwards a bit stronger than you had meant to as he skidded across the ground. It was just a reflex! You'd have to be aware of how much _nen_ you used while fighting, lest you give yourself away and royally fuck up. You had been warned constantly to not draw any unwanted attention, and besides the odd question here and there, you were doing pretty well at that with your cover story. You did _not_ need some second-rate villains ruining that for you!

Thankfully, you didn't land with anybody incompetent, because as it turns out, Shouto is _bad ass_. Instantly he had frozen almost every opponent, and you had managed to jump up just in time to avoid becoming a human popsicle as ice coated the ground. It was effective, instantly freezing all the villains into place, but...

"Hey! You totally just stole my chance to finally fight!"

Shouto either didn't hear you, or didn't care, and you had a feeling it was the latter as he stepped over towards one of the frozen villains. "Scatter and kill us? I'm sorry to say, but you lot seem to be just a bunch of pathetic goons."

Okay, that was actually a pretty cool line, and you inwardly applauded your classmate as you shivered slightly. Shouto was probably used to his quirk, but you weren't, and a puff of cold air escaped your lips as you rubbed up and down your arms in an attempt to stay warm. His quirk was honestly amazing! And it definitely matched his icily stoic personality, not that you would say that out loud to him.

Watching him approach one of the frozen villains, you stood by, unsure of what to do as your teeth chattered together in an annoying manner.

You were most certainly not a fan of the cold.

"What is your goal here? Why are you after All Might? I would speak fast, before your body temperature drops too low."

_Whoa... talk about scary!_

The poor villain, who was shivering way worse than you, spoke up quickly. "W-We have a weapon! One that can kill All Might!"

You and Shouto exchanged looks, the severity of the situation settling in. A weapon... that could kill All Might? Granted, you didn't know much, but you had seen the videos of All Might. You doubted it was an easy feat to kill somebody known as the number one hero, and you had to wonder if they were bluffing or if they really had some sort of secret weapon that could obliterate the so called "Symbol of Peace". A part of you really hoped it was a person, that way you could fight them.

Turning to Shouto, you hummed, not looking too bothered. "All Might isn't here, though, so does that mean..."

It was as if both of you simultaneously had the same thought of who would most likely be facing the weapon, and your eyebrows shot up. Only one person had stayed behind, after all, and that was...

Oh boy. Immediately, you and Shouto took off, leaving the poor villains stuck in the ice as the two of you navigated through the landslide zone. It wasn't too bad, but you had a feeling Shouto was holding back so he didn't leave you behind. Cute, but you could definitely handle yourself. This wasn't his fastest, right? He could surf on that ice or whatever. Was that even possible? Opening your mouth to ask as much, you paused, getting an idea of your own. Shouto had stopped and looked back, looking equal amounts annoyed at your delay and confused at the fact you faltered.

Frowning, you tapped your nose in thought. "Can you surf on your ice?"

It was clearly _not_ a question that Shouto had been expecting, and you quickly cut in before he could ask what this had to do with anything. "I can search for people within a 30-meter radius, but I can't do that while running at the same time. If you can carry me on your back and surf us to the center, I'll keep my quirk activated to alert you of possible enemies or classmates."

The teen contemplated for a moment, eyes narrowed thoughtfully at your suggestion. Finally, he gave a quick nod. "Get on my back."

That was all the confirmation you needed as you went over and climbed onto his back, swinging your arms around his neck. His arms hooked under your legs, securing your place before he started to use his ice to travel.

With that concentration unneeded, you closed your eyes. Just for a moment — holding up such a large radius of _en_ would drain your energy, and then you wouldn't be able to fight, but at least with your _en_ you could get a better idea of what you all will be facing.

Nothing out of the ordinary — no, that's not right. You could feel Aizawa's presence, weak and flickering, and... and...

Gasping, you let go of your _en_ , a wave of cold washing over you that combated Shouto's ice. Whatever _that_ was, it was not normal. Was that their secret weapon? What the hell _was_ that?! And even worse, _Aizawa_...

"What is it?"

Shouto's cold voice broke through your shock, and you gripped onto him tighter, urging him forward. "It's... I don't know. Whatever it is, if we don't get there soon, Aizawa is going to...!"

You couldn't finish that sentence, and Shouto sensed your urgency. Without any more conversation, he sped forward, his grip on you tightening.

When the two of you arrived at the center area, you were greeted with a strange sight, [e/c] eyes scanning the area. In the center was the pro you recognized as All Might right away, the warp gate having him stuck. Even seeing him seemingly cut in half, though.... _Man, he's a lot bigger than I expected... Maybe even bigger than that Uvogin guy from the Phantom Troupe!_

Arriving at the same time as you and Shouto were Katsuki, Eijirou, and Izuku. Thank goodness — with all of you together, this would be a lot easier. Quickly, you jumped off Shouto's back, eyes landing on the final opponent, but . . .

 _What_ is _that thing?!_

Immediately, you recognized it as the bone chilling source from before. Whatever it was, it wasn't human, and despite people looking strange here... you had a feeling that poor creature hadn't been born like that. Most likely, it wasn't acting of its own volition, either. As terrifying as it was, it was also quite sad to see. It looked like some awful monster from the Dark Continent, honestly, but that wasn't a thing here. 

Katsuki wasn't one to waste time — immediately, he had launched himself at the warp gate, pinning him down. It was fast, and honestly? Impressive.

"Nomu... Deal with that explosive kid, and then reconquer our exit."

In an instant the monster flew towards Katsuki. Shouting in dismay, you lurched forward, just a second too late as dust flew in the air. When it settled, you saw Katsuki was on the ground, unharmed.

"K-Kachaan! You dodged that?!"

Katsuki looked at a loss for words, before shooting a glare at Izuku. "I didn't, shut up, scum!" At his words, you slowly followed everybody else's eyes, realizing All Might had taken the punch. For being a number one hero... He honestly was not doing very well. Granted, though, you had a feeling you had missed a large part of this battle. However, despite the injuries All Might had sustained, you couldn't deny that he had been faster than you. You had barely seen that thing _move_ , but All Might had made it in time and had made sure none of the students got hurt. 

"Do you... not know how to hold back?!"

This came from All Might, and the hand man was quick in response, flanking the monster. "It was to save my companions. After all, that plain one was ready to punch me with everything he had, you know." The hand man pointed at Izuku, and you tensed, glancing over at your curly-haired friend. "Violence for the sake of others makes it admirable."

That was literally the most bullshit excuse ever, and you were about to call him out on it. However, the hand man kept talking, apparently wanting to keep this monologue up and having no worries that he could get attacked at any moment for taking so long to explain his problems.

"You know what? I'm pissed. I'm pissed at this world that categorizes the same violent acts as heroic or villainous, deciding what's good and what's bad. Symbol of Peace? You're just a tool to repress violence. Well, violence only breeds violence, and the world will know this once _we_ kill you."

Well, shit, that wasn't a turn you expected, honestly. You hated it but had to agree with the hand man in a sense. You didn't approve of his ways, obviously, but you had noticed this when being taught about the world by Nezu and Aizawa and Nejire. Everything here... It was so black and white. Good VS. Evil, Heroes VS. Villains. There were so many _laws_ that governed this world, so many things you couldn't do, and there were no gray areas. If you didn't fit into what society expected was good, you were bad. Even vigilantes, who _did_ good, were detained and arrested, and it wasn't fair! Much like your own world... Bad guys can do good things. Good guys can do bad things. You doubted all heroes were good, just as you doubted all villains were actually bad, so why was it alright for one group to be violent, and not the other?

What even _were_ 'heroes' and 'villains'?

"[Y/n]?"

At the sound of your name being quietly spoken, you turned to face a concerned Eijirou, tuning in on your classmate's conversation. You quickly mouthed "I'm fine!" to Eijirou, not wanting to interrupt what seemed to be the beginning of a plan.

"It's three against six," said Shouto once your attention was tuned in, and you nodded solemnly. These morality questions... You weren't going to let them go, but it was dangerous to dwell on amid battle. You had to give this your 100% brain power!

Izuku was the next to speak up, and you assumed 'Kachaan' was Katsuki, information you stored away for later. "And Kachaan already found out the fog guy's weakness!"

"These guys are crazy, but if we back up All Might, we can push them back!"

You nodded, bringing your fists up. "Compared to the people I've faced against before... These guys are amateurs at _best_." Hisoka... Illumi... The Phantom Troupe... You thought of your past trials and battles, and a smirk once again started to grace your face. That hand guy especially looked lanky and weak, and you had to think, if these were the baddest of the bad, then this world is _seriously_ lacking.

"No!"

In disbelief, you brought your hands down a bit as you faced All Might, a slow outrage growing on your face. "Run away."

It was your turn to shout. You didn't know where Aizawa was earlier and you hoped he was alright, but if he wasn't here... That meant he was seriously hurt. You could have prevented it if you hadn't listened to him and had fought back with him! You _weren't_ making that same mistake again, no matter what the consequences would be. "No way in hell! I'm staying here to fight."

Shouto unexpectedly agreed. "If I hadn't done anything earlier, you would've been in trouble, right?"

"You must be Young Freecss. Thank you both, but I've got this. Just sit back and watch as a pro gives it everything he's got."

Shooting you all a thumbs up, you couldn't help but be just a bit skeptical. This guy was bleeding from his side and mouth pretty badly, and you doubted he could last long. Yeah, no. You weren't listening to All Might. Besides, you were sort of selfish; you were _craving_ some real action and were determined to finally get your chance to shine and prove to these newbie fighters just how good you were. A bit childish, but you were revved up. You couldn't stand back now!

"Nomu. Kurogiri. Get him. I'll deal with the children."

Turning towards the monster, you started to build up your _nen_ , a look of serious concentration on your face. You had two options — back up All Might or deal with the hand man. You were quick to make your choice. After all, two against one wasn't fair, and you knew your friends could handle anything hand man threw at them.

"Hey bird brain!"

Just as the hand man had started to run towards you all, you had instantly shot forward like a rocket, wind gusting around you at the sheer force you shot forward with while using your _nen_. In moments you were in front of the monster, ignoring All Might's shouts for you to get back as you brought up your leg and slammed a well-balanced kick aimed right into the monster's gut, dust and dirt flying up again. You had gone at about 75% of your power, knowing full well that, as an enhancer, using 100% would be _way_ overkill. However, you couldn't risk it. Who knew how much All Might _really_ had in him, and you wanted to end this as quickly as possible so you could hopefully fight the hand man as well. Steadying yourself on both feet, you waited for the dust to settle, confident in your own abilities, but...

. . . When everything settled, the creature stood, only having been knocked a few feet back. Your classmates exclaimed in shock at the fact that you managed to knock it back at all, but you couldn't help but stare in horror.

"That's... impossible..."

Not only did you just use almost all your strength at this creature who barely reacted, but there was a familiar glow now wrapped around the creature, one that you recognized right away in horror and shock. One that, unfortunately, meant the tables had turned, and not in a way that would benefit you. 

" _Nen_?!"


	9. Rampaging Evil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For better or worse, you've caught the attention of everybody around you.

" _Nen_?!"

You were in shock. You honestly couldn't help it — it was the last thing you had expected, and you watched as the glow slightly died down. For a moment, you thought that maybe this monster was from your world. How else would it have _nen_?! It wasn't the same, though, you quickly realized as you jumped back closer to All Might, wanting to put as much distance as you could between yourself and the creature. It was forced upon the creature and felt artificial in a sense. But, then, how did it _get_ _nen_? You couldn't sense any other _nen_ users in the USJ, but there had to have been a _nen_ user involved for the creature to be like this, meaning your earlier theory was right. Somebody from your world was _here_.

"So it's you... You're the one from the other world."

Your attention snapped over to the guy with the hands, eyes impossibly wide. He had stopped halfway through his launched attack on your friends to regard you with beady red eyes, eyes that seemed to pierce right through you. But more importantly...

He _knew_?!

"'Other world'?" Eijirou asked, repeating the hand guy's words as different sets of eyes focused on you. You had no time to explain. Hell, if you did, you weren't sure you _could_ , as your brain was already overheating from the shock that this guy knew who — and _what_ — you were. This did not bode well.

Your chest was tight, and you forced yourself to breathe evenly, to stay calm. The League of Villains, they called themselves. It was somewhat reminiscent to the Phantom Troupe in the sense they were a group of morally questionable people. In that comparison, with the hand guy seeming to be the leader, was he akin to Chrollo in strength? If he were, you doubted you could take him. There was no _way_ you could take him if he was as powerful as Chrollo. Already, you had severely underestimated the strength of this monster, recognizing that you had been too cocky.

"Young Freecss, get back!"

You didn't hesitate to listen, launching backwards, and you were thankful the creature didn't follow you. Your widened eyes, instead, trailed over to the hand man, still trying to process his words. "How... did you know...?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he sighed, picking at the back of his neck with a ferocity that made you inwardly cringe. "Change of plans. Nomu. You get All Might. Kurogiri. . . capture that girl."

Upon the new orders, the monster (Nomu?) had launched forwards towards All Might, and the pro hero had no choice but to rebuttal his attacks and stand his ground. Upon the impact, gusts of wind blew everywhere, and you flipped backwards, gritting your teeth at the sheer _intensity_.

You had definitely underestimated All Might's ability. For him to be able to withstand that Nomu like this was a bit impressive, but... you had bigger problems to deal with.

Having not been the only one knocked back, you noticed that everybody nearby was struggling to stay on the ground, and you whipped your head around, just in time to see a hand come towards you. Within a split second you bent backwards, avoiding the blow narrowly as your hands connected the ground and you swung your legs up, kicking your assailant in the chest. Standing back on both feet, you glared at the hand guy, the one whom had attempted to attack you. You'd have to be careful. You had _no_ idea what his ability was, and the fact he was most likely sided with somebody from your world... It daunted you.

"He said you were strong, but young. How _scary_ it must be, being in another world. Don't you want to know how to get back?"

He was taunting you, and you clenched your fists. "Shut up!" Lurching forward, you attempted to land another kick, but the hand man sidestepped it with ease, grabbing onto your arm. Immediately you tried to shake him off, but he held on with bruising strength, fingers wrapped tightly around your wrist. Any stronger and you were afraid it might break.

"Let go!" With your free hand, you attempted to swing it forward, but he caught that too.

"Interesting... Like him, you don't disintegrate... I wonder why."

With raw force you pushed forward, managing to push him off as you took a couple strides backwards, panting slightly. What did he mean by _disintegrate?_ Was that his quirk? If it were, you could only hope that your _nen_ had protected you from that one or that some weird fluke happened, because no way did you want to experience the feeling of being turned into ash.

Bringing your fists back up, you tensed but didn't make the first move. Likewise, the hand man stayed still, and in the background you could hear shouting as all eyes were on Nomu and All Might's big battle, your hair whipping behind you violently. This guy was deceptively strong, and you debated on your next course of action. You doubted he would listen to reason and give up, so trying to come to a compromise was a no-go, but you were also running out of stamina and you didn't want to have to push yourself too hard.

He took a step forward, and your eyes trained behind him, realizing there was a person missing.

"Shit!"

Just in time, you side stepped out of the way, the warp gate that hand man called "Kurogiri" materializing behind you. If you had been a moment later, who _knows_ where you would have ended up. Keeping up with hand man was one thing, but Kurogiri, too? It would be difficult, but... and call you crazy, but you were _excited_ for the challenge.

An uneven grin made its way onto your face. "So that's how it is, huh?"

You were careful to avoid the radius of All Might and Nomu, running towards the hand-man. Fighting Kurogiri was too risky, and you knew that. One misstep and you'd be sent spiraling through another one of his portals, and you didn't want to know where you'd end up this time. Exchanging blows, you and the hand man weren't as fast nor as impressive as the pro hero that was currently throwing punches at a breakneck speed, but still fast enough where even the tiniest mistake would be enough to change the tides. 

Infuriatingly enough, your opponent didn't look tired at all. If anything, he looked _bored_.

Wincing at a particularly strong blow that connected with your shoulder, you stood your ground, afraid that if you stumbled at all, you'd be stumbling right into Kurogiri's quirk. Then it'd be game over. "How do you know about me? Who's on your side?"

The hand man laughed, amused at your line of questioning. "You think you're the only one here? If you come with us, we can tell you everything you need to know. You're on the wrong side, you know!"

"As if!"

Agitated that you weren't getting any answers, you knocked him back with a kick that send him skidding. It wasn't very powerful, and he was still on his feet, but it put some distance between the two of you. Just in time, as a loud shattering noise stole your attention, and you looked back to see All Might standing there, Nomu nowhere in sight.

Wait...

Glancing up slowly, you saw the hole in the roof, your eyebrows shooting up. All Might patted his chest, before turning his gaze to the three of you — specifically, Kurogiri and the hand guy. "Now, villains... it's your turn!"

You had to get out of the way. You did _not_ want to be standing in between All Might and hand man like this. Without any more hesitation you had jumped back, away from them all as your eyes trained on the hand man.

"A hack... you cheated!"

"That's rich, coming from some asshole who somehow infused _nen_ into that creature! You're the cheat!" You accused, pointing a finger out at him and not caring about the few of your classmates who were still within hearing range. You were too worked up, too frustrated to care about any consequences at this point. "This place... _Nen_ shouldn't be a part of it, and yet you found a way around it anyways! _You're_ the cheater here!"

Meanwhile, in your rage, the four teens who had all been solely focused on All Might's fight, were left puzzled at your words. Worlds... _Nen_... None of it made sense to them. Who exactly _were_ you, besides some latecomer, foreign-exchange student?

The hand-man only picked at his neck even more. "Kurogiri... _deal with her._ "

"Young Freecss, get away from them!"

You didn't need to be told twice, backing up before Kurogiri could try to do anything. If it came to a fight, would you be able to handle him? Katsuki had managed to land a hit, meaning somewhere, Kurogiri had a solid body, but you debated if you'd be able to avoid being caught or not. You were aware that one wrong move could mean your capture. Why did they even _want_ to capture you? Because of your _nen_? Because of the mysterious user behind the League?

You weren't sure but didn't have time to think or ask as gunshots rang out throughout the area. You flinched instinctively, _ko_ flaring out around you, but the projectiles weren't aimed at you. Four shots had hit the hand man, one in each limb, and Kurogiri had quickly wrapped around him before both men disappeared. The last thing you saw of him were his red eyes, seething with rage.

Then they were gone.

Exhaustion rolled over you, and you fell to your knees, not realizing just how much energy you had exerted until now. _Damn it...! I was so close!_

Somebody had thrown your arm around their shoulder, and you looked up to see Eijirou, who flashed you a toothy grin. Despite that, you could see the worry as he helped you up, and you tried to return his grin shakily.

"I'm fine, Eijirou... Just tired. I think I expended more energy than I meant to, haha!" Your laugh was airy but obviously lacking your usual energy, and he shrugged it off, slowly walking. You looked back, only to see a wall separating you all from All Might and Izuku. You could ask about it later, but for now, you wanted desperately to get home and sleep.

Jerking yourself away from Eijirou and nearly collapsing, you looked around frantically. "Aizawa! Where is he? Is he okay?!" You were frantic, having forgot about your teacher and guardian, and Eijirou glanced up and over to where two of your classmates stood, his own face crestfallen. A stretcher had been brought out, with Aizawa being set upon it, and you ignored his protests to run up the stairs and over to him. Ignoring the burning in your legs, you used your _nen_ for one last time, jumping up the rest of the stairs.

"Aizawa!"

It was gruesome. They had put a breathing mask over his face as they quickly wheeled him outside, but he looked awful. A large gash was on his face, blood everywhere, but his arm was the most disturbing, the skin having been eaten away completely to where you could see the muscle. You had seen some pretty gruesome stuff (after all, there _was_ some guy on Greed Island going around and blowing up and imploding people...), but you couldn't control the way your breath hitched at the sight of it.

Aizawa...

That man would pay, other _nen_ user be damned! Good or bad, you couldn't care less about those labels, but he had hurt one of the few people who knew your secret and had given you a place to stay. 

A hand was placed on your shoulder and your head snapped up to meet the gaze of the girl with a brown bob, one whom you recognized as one of your classmates. "Don't worry, [Y/n]-chan! Him and Thirteen-sensei will be okay! They're pro heroes, after all!" Your nod came hesitantly, and then she quickly spoke up again, becoming flustered. "Oh, sorry! You said to call you [Y/n], so I hope that's okay!! I'm Uraraka Ochaco!" She removed her hands, waving them around, and a small smile tilted your lips upwards at the carefree behavior.

"It's fine, Ochaco," you told her, before nodding again. "And you're right. They'll be fine, I believe in them!"

You were tired, but it didn't prevent the weary cheer from leaving your mouth as you thrust your fist in the air, everybody else around nodding in agreement. A few of your less-traumatized classmates cheered along with you, and you finally looked back over the stadium. With the arrival of pro-heroes, all the villains were being apprehended, the remaining students that had been scattered being brought back to the entrance in varying degrees of worn-out states. You were glad, at the least, that everybody else sustained minimal injury, save for Izuku's obviously broken arm.

Following the pros and your classmates out, you allowed yourself to dwell a bit as everybody was getting checked out. Today had been, while stressful, enlightening. The knowledge that you weren't the only _nen_ user in this world was a twist you hadn't expected, and you couldn't help but wonder just _who_ was here. The hand guy hadn't exactly been very forthcoming on any of the information you needed. Unfortunately, it was looking like you were going to need to look more into this on your own time, and carefully, too — in a world so strict on its laws and rule-following, it would be hard to get the information about the League of Villains that you needed without breaking any boundaries.

You sighed. More than ever did you miss your world, where you could basically do anything and didn't need either parental permission or worry about whether you were doing anything illegal.

"Oi. Foreigner."

Your response was automatic. "It's [Y/n]," you said blandly, turning around to meet the angry gaze of Katsuki, who had dismissed your name as if it was nothing more than an annoying pest. You were too busy in your own thoughts to really want to pester or tease Katsuki right now, and you had just opened your mouth to tell him to buzz off, but he beat you to it, his words harsh.

"I don't care. What the hell were you and that hand fucker going on about back there? 'World', _hah_?"

Oh shit. You were _so_ not ready for this conversation, and you noticed the two boys nearby who were trying their best to eavesdrop on the conversation. Of course it'd be Katsuki who'd be direct about it, though. It wasn't even your fault this time, that asshole villain was the one spouting on about you being from another world!

In an attempt to remain neutral and casual, you raised an eyebrow at him, pretending like you were confused. "Uh, did you hit your head? If I knew what that hand guy wanted, I'd be telling the pros, not standing here, wasting my time and talking to you."

"WHAT did you say, you fucking—"

Yeah, no, you weren't going to deal with this right now. Waving him away as dismissive as he acted when you told him your name, you turned away and started to head back to where the rest of your class was. "Aaaand I'm done talking to you. Come find me in about 10 years, when you've learned to chill the fuck out."

Ignoring the glare that was burning into your very soul, you plastered a smile on your face, agreeing to head over to the nurse's office to go get checked out with the other students, leaving Bakugou Katsuki and the other two who were there to witness the exchange wondering as to what exactly was going on. Unbeknownst to you, the cogs in your classmates' heads were turning viciously, already beginning to unravel the secret that kept your existence safe.


	10. Special — Reunions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When you saw everybody in York New City ♥

"Holy shit."

Eyes widened in awe, you couldn't help but gaze up at the towering skyscrapers that loomed over the city known as York New. Having grown up on an island and not spending a lot of time in an actual city, it was all too new for you, every little thing amazing you and catching your attention. Businessmen in a hurry carrying large brief cases briskly walked down the sidewalk, women tittered on the side holding tens and tens of shopping bags. A kid, barreling down the street on the skateboard and weaving through traffic that strangely reminded you of your friend Killua.

The air, however, was one thing you could not get used to.

Spending most of the time in what was basically the wild, you were used to softer, more natural scents. York New City was entirely industrial, smoke billowing up into the air and the smell of sewers and hot dogs penetrated your nose as you wrinkled it up in disgust. Yeah, you were _not_ a fan of the smell.

Gross stench aside, the rest of the city amazed you. It was so vast, so _gigantic_ , that it actually made you worry about how you were going to meet up with your friends again. It was September 1st, after all, but you couldn't recall setting a meeting point, and your cellphone... Well...

Pulling the mangled and broken piece of junk from your pocket, you let out a sigh. You forgot to put it away when training and had completely smashed it when practicing your _ren_. You didn't have a _lot_ of money, just some spare coins from scavenging and selling, but it should be enough to barter you a new phone. That would have to be your first stop — there was no way you could contact Gon or the others without a cellphone.

Walking down the street brightly, you took in all the sights, humming a happy tune and weaving through the people that crowded the sidewalk.

Making a stop, you noticed a café to your left, your stomach growling in agreement to your thoughts. You were _starving_ , and one little bite couldn't hurt, right? You ran across the street with no hesitation, waving at the cars that aggressively honked at you as you peered through the window. The food looked tasty enough, but at this point you'd be willing to eat almost anything.

Going in, a burst of warm air greeted you, smells of pastries and soups giving you a reprieve from the city air as you walked up to the café to order a sandwich. Handing over the money, as soon as you sat down to eat, you started shoving the food into your mouth, ignoring the disgusted looks from the customers as you focused on the only thing important in your life: your sandwich.

"[Y/n]?"

Mouth full of food, making your cheeks puff out, you glanced up to see a familiar face that you hadn't seen since you all had made it to the Zoldyck mansion. You immediately swallowed your food, grinning up at the man.

"Leorio!"

You didn't hesitate to get up and give him a hug, startling the teen as he patted your head somewhat awkwardly. "You're really that excited to see me, huh...?"

Pulling away, you nodded. "Of course! I missed you all so much!"

This caused Leorio to get flustered as he looked away, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well, I guess it's good to see you too," was his response, but you knew that he didn't really mean it. Even if he tried to hide it, you knew he was happy to see you!

Leading him to your table, you didn't hesitate to start chowing down again, ignoring the exasperated sigh that left your senior's mouth. "It's nice to see you haven't changed a bit..." he grumbled, and you opted to not reply as he started to speak again. "We've been trying to contact you for the past three hours! Don't you know how to answer your phone?"

You gulped, tilting your head to the side. "'We'? Did you guys all meet up already?" you asked, unconcerned with the frustration Leorio as showing as you slid your poor phone across the table to him, wiping your mouth. "My phone's busted, sorry about that!" You laughed out loud, not a care in the world.

Running a hand through black hair, Leorio sighed again. You were certainly a handful. "You too, huh? Well, come on, I'm sure the others miss you, too."

The others, as it turned out, were just Killua and Gon. After getting a new phone, you two went back to the hotel they were all staying at, you and Gon having a heartfelt reunion as you nearly cried at being reunited with your younger brother-like friend. You didn't want to let him go, but eventually he started complaining about needing to breathe and you let him go, giddy.

Killua, on the other hand, you had mixed emotions about.

"Oh great, the old lady is back," he grumbled, immediately causing you to bristle as you smacked him upside the head.

"I'm only a few years older than you, idiot!"

Gon only laughed at your guys' antics, while Leorio stood off to the side, scratching his head as he observed all of you. "Now that we're all together, I guess that just makes Kurapika the only one to find."

You stopped goofing off, tilting your head thoughtfully. "None of you can get a hold of him, right?" You asked, and the three confirmed it. "What about Hisoka?"

"What?"

All three of your friends glanced at you in confusion, and you sighed, dramatically rolling your eyes. "Uh, hello? He's the reason why Kurapika wanted to come here. If we find Hisoka, we'll find Kurapika — they've probably already been in contact."

Everybody else seemed to agree to that theory with some reluctance. While your reasoning was sound and true, the truth of the matter was that _nobody_ wanted to look for Hisoka, let alone work alongside him. In your opinion, you could never see him again and that _still_ wouldn't be enough. The jester-themed hunter (the fact that he was a hunter already worried you) was one of the few people who genuinely unsettled you, and you were usually a tough person so that was saying something.

For the rest of the night, the four of you caught up, sharing stories of training and travels in the room.

"Ehhh? So you mean to say you made my little bro do all of the work?" You jokingly asked Killua, laughing at how Gon managed to land a punch on Hisoka. The white-haired boy glared at you.

"I fought a lot, but I can show you a demonstration if you'd like," he threatened, fingers immediately sharpening as he held up his hand. You held up a fist in retaliation, equally as irked.

" _What_ was that? Because that sounded an awful lot alike a challenge that you would lose."

Killua snorted, immediately replying with, "Hah? Is your age affecting your hearing too, old hag?"

"I'M SIXTEEN YOU BRAT!"

Gon was quick to laugh quickly, diffusing the anger that had welled up inside of you. "I'm so glad that we're all back together! [Y/n], what did you do?"

It was near impossible to be mad at a literal ball of sunshine like Gon, and you let out a deep exhale, sitting back. "I visited Aunt Mito on the island for a bit and gave her updates," you told him directly, before speaking casually to the group, "and then I trained in the desert until now."

"The desert?!"

Leorio was shocked, and you shrugged nonchalantly. "Yep," you popped the 'p', leaning back on your hands since you all were seated on the floor (well, Killua was on the bed, choosing comfort over camaraderie). "That's where I met my mentor. He taught me about _nen_ , too. I'm an enhancer!"

"Like me!" Gon piped up, and you nodded, before scowling at the thought of your training.

"My mentor was a total dick though! I spent six months with him and that stupid rat never told me his name, not to mention he kept getting me into bad situations!"

The others just laughed, clearly amused at your own distress as you quickly calmed down, offering a more genuine smile to the group before you. It had been so long since you all had been together, even if you were missing a member, but it felt right. These three — and Kurapika — were your family. You hadn't realized how much you had even missed them until you all reunited!

"We need to find Kurapika."

The others all looked at you, confused by the sudden change in your demeanor as you met their eyes with a determined gaze. "He's here because of the Phantom Troupe, right? So that means we need to find him and help him! That's what a family does!"

While Gon nodded, clearly agreeing with your statement, Killua and Leorio were still left a little bit confused by your words. "Family? I don't remember being related to anybody as stupid as you."

You didn't hesitate to throw your shoe at the former-assassin, Killua leaning to the side and easily dodging it as the other two started laughing again. If you could just freeze this moment in time... It would be perfect. No fights to the death, no running from bad guys, no death. Just a bunch of friends hanging out and having a good time.

If only things could stay that way.


	11. Spreading Anxiety

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a day off from school to recuperate, you meet up with Detective Tsukauchi.

You were late. Having spent the morning, refusing to leave Aizawa's side in the hospital, time had passed by quickly. Before you knew it, it was already past one, and now you were rushing to get around to go to the café you had promised Detective Tsukauchi to meet up at.

After the attack at USJ yesterday, all class 1-A students had been questioned, including you. Apparently, a lot of students saw your efforts to fight, and you were commended for your bravery and diligence by several pros. On top of that, though, you were scolded for disobeying a direct order from a pro-hero and one of your teachers, the threat of suspension looming over your head until Nezu had stepped in, saying there was no need for you to get in trouble for doing what was right. His reasoning was that you saw somebody in trouble, and acted to help, something a "true" hero would do. While it wasn't really why you had burst in, you thanked him anyways, grateful he had fished you out of trouble. After all, it's not like you could explain that there was somebody from a different dimension on the villains' side, somebody who may or may not be affiliated with you.

After the line of questioning, you were sent to Recovery Girl, the school's nurse. There was no need to heal you. Whatever bruises and scrapes you had accumulated, you quickly healed yourself, and unfortunately, she couldn't replenish your stamina. With a lollipop and a pat on the head, you were told to go home and get some rest.

As if.

As soon as you were dismissed from U.A., you had gone straight to the hospital, having arrived right when Aizawa had gotten out of surgery. He was all wrapped up like a mummy, and unconscious when you got there, but he was stable. He was _safe_. You hadn't been here for long, but you regarded Aizawa almost as a father figure, and weren't sure what exactly you would have done if it had been fatal. After all... Wasn't it your fault that you hadn't backed him up? If you had... You could have prevented this. Right?

You wound up spending the night at the hospital. Even though the nurses insisted that visiting hours were over, they didn't make any attempt to remove you from the room. You knew they pitied you, but you didn't care as long as they didn't make you leave. Throughout the next morning, you waited around, hoping for updates and for Aizawa to wake up, but he didn't, and eventually you were forced to leave and head back to your shared apartment to freshen up before your meeting.

Because of the attack on U.A., school was cancelled for the next two days. The brief reprieve was welcomed, honestly. You were quick to learn that school was definitely not your forte. You just were not a fan.

However, you couldn't rest — the night before, you had received a call from Detective Tsukauchi asking if you two could meet up today and go over how you're adjusting and the attack on USJ. As your otherworldly secret was kept from most law enforcement and pros, not many people could handle your information with care. You had relayed the best you could to All Might and Nezu, but Tsukauchi had requested to hear it from you directly.

Which... led you to now, in a small café.

"Ah, Miss [Y/n]. Over here."

At the sound of your name, you found the plain-looking detective and sat across from him, apologizing profusely for your tardiness as he held up a hand. "It's fine, I understand a lot has happened."

Unsure, you just nodded. Neither of you said anything as the server came over to grab drink orders, and you immediately ordered a parfait with your favorite fruit, assuming the detective would pay for it. You certainly weren't going to.

When the waitress left again, Tsukauchi spoke up, his voice kind. "Miss [Y/n], it's been only a week since you've been here, and things have been... _lively_ , to say the least. Are you, um, adjusting well here?"

You felt bad for him. It was a semi-awkward situation, and he definitely didn't seem to know how to keep up a casual conversation with you. That was fine, you figured you could do enough talking for the both of you.

Leaning back in your chair, you ran a hand through slightly tangled [h/c] hair, your fingers gently working through the knots you didn't get when getting ready this morning. "Doesn't feel like it's been a week, but... I dunno. It's so different. Some of it is good different, but I don't really like this place, honestly," you confessed, meeting his eyes with a solemn look on your face. "All of these rules and regulations are so _stiff._ Not to mention unfair. This whole hero versus villain business just seems really two-dimensional. And then there are vigilantes, who try to do the right thing but get in trouble — it just seems way too black and white."

You weren't done rambling as Tsukauchi listened patiently. "Did you know I can't just go buy a ticket to go to another country? Because I'm not considered an adult here, I have to either wait a couple years or have my parents' consent. What's up with that? Back in my world, Gon and Killua and I could do whatever we wanted, and they're only 13 right now! We never needed a parent's permission. So I don't know. There are too many rules and laws to follow, and it's frustrating."

Done with your rant, you crossed your arms and huffed, your face becoming even more serious as you looked Tsukauchi squarely in the eyes. "At USJ yesterday... Those guys were trying to hurt us, and we weren't even allowed to fight back at all. I got in trouble for protecting myself and my friends. I didn't even _hurt_ anybody — well, too badly. Do you realize how stupid that is?"

The poor detective, who had just listened to your onslaught of aggravated words, held his hands up in a placating manner. "I know it's different here than your own world, and it's probably overwhelming, but until you can get back, you can't stand out. I understand it's frustrating to you, but it's for your own safety. Do you understand?"

He was so nice that it made it hard to be mad at him, and you bitterly nodded, pursing your lips in a show of irritation. "I know. I know it's to keep me safe. But the villains already know about me apparently, so what's the point?"

"The point is that it's still not widely known. If it gets out that you're from... another _place_... you'll never have a moment of privacy. The media will be after you, every villain will be after you. You won't be able to move freely at all." You winced at that last part, at the thought of being cooped up somewhere, and Tsukauchi caught on, matching your eyes with a serious look of his own. "This isn't a game here. You could have died back there from fighting those villains. They wouldn't hesitate to kill you, even if you're a child—"

"I'm not a child!" Your voice came out louder and harsher than you meant, and you shrunk slightly as some of the café's visitors glanced over at the two of you. "I'm not a child," you repeated, more quietly. "I've been in more dangerous situations than you can probably imagine. This League of Villains or whatever is _nothing_ compared to the Phantom Troupe. They don't scare me."

Tsukauchi shook his head, looking somewhat exasperated at your outburst. "I think you're underestimating the people of our world, Miss [Y/n]. I understand your abilities are versatile, but quirks here can be just as dangerous. If you get too sure of yourself, the next time you meet villains, you might not make it. Do you understand? That's why it's important for you to lay low, and _not_ engage with a villain when he starts talking about your background."

Wincing, you asked, "You heard about that?"

Tsukauchi chuckled. "All Might was there, too. Your classmates should drop it and not bother you about it, so don't worry. We told them that the villains were just making stuff up to cause discord." You nodded, and it was at this time the waitress came back, placing a large parfait filled with your favorite fruit to the top. Immediately, you started to dig in, thanking the waitress and then Tsukauchi, who only watched you with an amused look on his face.

Deciding to steer the conversation away from your questionable morality and your clear aggravation with this world, Tsukauchi spoke up again. "Miss [Y/n] . . . I heard what happened at USJ from All Might, but I'd like to hear your side. What exactly happened between you and Shigaraki Tomura?"

You swallowed thickly, tilting your head to the side in confusion. "Who?"

"Shigaraki Tomura. He is the apparent leader of the League of Villains."

". . . Hand guy?"

Tsukauchi was exasperated but nodded. "Yes. He led the entire operation, and, according to All Might, targeted you specifically."

Shoveling another bite of parfait into your mouth, you nodded in agreement, chewing for a moment before swallowing. "I don't know what all you were told, but I'm not the only one here. There's a _nen_ user on their side, and I have a feeling it's somebody I know," you told the detective, stirring around the parfait in thought. "That weird creature that All Might knocked out of USJ... I think its name was Nomu? Either way, it had _nen_ infused in it."

At your words, Tsukauchi hummed, a thoughtful look on his face. "Do you think this Nomu was from your world?"

"No." Your answer was quick and decisive, and you took a smaller bite of your dessert. "This _nen_ was different. As if it was jammed into the creature. I don't think the people here normally have the capacity for _nen_ , because you all feel different. But, like, if that's the case, that means somebody else jammed that _nen_ into the creature."

"And that's why you believe somebody else from your world is here."

"Mhm!" You wished you could offer suggestions, but right now you had an extremely limited list, and that list only consisted of people you knew _weren't_ involved. That, unfortunately, meant that you were nowhere in your own investigation. "Whoever it is, filled in Tomura or whatever on me being here, because as soon as I attacked Nomu, they knew who I was and where I was from. They wanted to take me."

Your casual news shocked Tsukauchi, a disturbed look on his face, and you waved your hand around dismissively. "I won't go with them, don't worry. I don't really appreciate that they attacked me or my friends, and _especially_ that they hurt Aizawa so bad. But I'm super curious as to who that other _nen_ user is..."

Pouting, you rested your head onto the table, dramatically moping. "I just want to go home, and this _nen_ user could be the key, if I can just _find_ them—"

"No." This time, it was Tsukauchi who answered quickly, cutting off your musing as you sat back up. He was stern, his eyes sharp. "You _cannot_ seek out the League of Villains. You understand that if they get you, you might not be able to come back. Leave this investigation to the pros, [Y/n]." His words came out harsh, and while you could understand that he just was thinking of your well-being, you were somewhat pissed off that he didn't trust you to be able to do this. You doubted anything you could say would change his mind, though, and so you sighed, lips thinning.

Reluctantly, you nodded. "I guess. But if it gets worse... This involves me directly, now, and I have every right to seek out answers, don't I?"

You could tell that wasn't what Tsukauchi wanted to hear, and he shook his head, pressing on. " _Promise_. Promise you'll drop this."

Promise? You couldn't make a promise you couldn't keep. You _couldn't_ drop this. Choosing to not say that, you pretended to agree, relenting for the time being. "Alright, alright. But if they confront _me_ , I'm not just backing down. Okay?"

Poor Tsukauchi, you could tell you were driving him nuts, and he raked his hand across the top of his head. You were severely stressing him out. "Just stay safe, Miss [Y/n]. We only want to keep you safe until you can get back to your own home."

You didn't doubt that, and instead you nodded grimly, stretching your arms above your head and faking a dramatic yawn. "Sorry," you apologized somewhat flatly, "I don't think I got a lot of sleep last night, staying at the hospital and all. I should probably head back so I can get some actual rest and clean up the apartment for when Aizawa gets back," you said, before plastering a bright smile on your face to appease the detective. "If I find out anything else, I'll let you know! So do the same for me! Thanks for paying, bye!"

Quickly zooming out of the café, you fished out your phone, heading back to the apartment before Tsukauchi could try and stop you or ask any other questions. Like _hell_ you were going to sit back and do nothing. Honestly, that detective was crazy. As much as you appreciated everything he had done for you, you didn't like that they were all still treating you like some little kid who had no clue as to what she was doing. 

One way or another, you _would_ find out who that _nen_ user was. 

Making it home, you cringed at the state the apartment was in, starting to slowly pick things up and at least make it look _somewhat_ livable. It had only been a day since Aizawa was gone, but from that day you hadn't really bothered to do anything. Granted, it wasn't the tidiest place to begin with, but if Aizawa saw this mess... You could already imagine his irritated scolding at your laziness.

Once the apartment was somewhat decent, you dug around until you found a spare notebook, uncapping a red pen that you had found and sitting at the dining room table. In your own written language, you wrote down "OPERATION: HOME", before creating bullet points to note down the information you knew so far. It wasn't a lot, but your investigation had to start somewhere!

By the time you were finished jotting down notes, a suspect list, and what little you knew of the League of Villains and its leader, it was late, and you were just getting ready to hit the hay when the door opened slowly.

"Huh?"

Peeping your head out, your eyes lit up immediately at the figure in the doorway, and you ran to hug him.

"Aizawa! You're okay!"

Your teacher grunted, awkwardly patting you on the head with what little mobility he had, and you noticed the figure behind him. "Oh, you're Present Mic!"

Present Mic, who was also your English teacher, seemed just as surprised to see you just as you were to see him as he helped Aizawa inside. "Shouta, you have a kid?!" Present Mic exclaimed, at the same time you asked, "Is he your boyfriend?"

"Both of you, shut up."

You and Present Mic both laughed at Aizawa's predictably grumpy nature, and for the first time today you managed to relax, finally able to see your guardian. Seeing him hobble around comforted you that he would be fine, and you closed the door behind the two, goofy smile on your face.

Everything would be fine, and for now, that's all you could hold on to.


	12. Declaration of War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back to school — what's this about a sport's festival? Count you in!

School was off for one more day before you all had to get back to the daily grind. As much as you wanted to go out and explore, and try to make a break in your investigation, you were stuck at the house with Aizawa, equal parts taking care of him (much to his dismay, as he found out the hard way that you _cannot_ cook) and studying. It was Aizawa who had pointed out that if you wanted to stay in U.A., you couldn't afford to slack off, and so you spent your day practicing writing in Japanese. You weren't _perfect_ , but now that you got the hang of the katakana alphabet, writing in kanji and hiragana became easier for you. It was sloppy, but at least you could understand the words.

The morning school was supposed to be back in session, you _tried_ to convince Aizawa to stay home to no avail. Apparently looking like a literal mummy (who eerily reminded you of one of the Phantom Troupe members) was not going to stop the man from fulfilling his duty as a teacher, and so after you got ready, the two of you left for campus. He had received tons of odd looks, but you stuck by him just in case something was to happen.

Thankfully, your trip to school went off without a hitch.

Having had to get to school earlier, you met up with Nejire in the classroom where your tutoring sessions were going to take place, the blue-haired teen already waiting patiently for you as she read a book. When you walked in, she quickly got up, bouncing over and pulling you in for a tight hug with your head pressed into her chest.

"Ah, [Y/n]-chan! I'm so glad you're okay!"

Trying to not suffocate, you gave her a quick hug before pushing her away, your face reddening. And you thought Aunt Mito had a grip...!

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. You heard what happened at the USJ?"

Nejire nodded, tilting her head to the side in a manner that made her seem almost younger than you. "Hm, I think everybody has! It's common knowledge that Class 1-A was attacked by villains. I'm certain you all will be scoped out today." You had no clue what she was talking about, honestly, and she laughed at your confused face as the two of you sat down. "The Sport's Festival. U.A. is going to go ahead with it, and since your class survived a villain attack, you all will probably be considered the biggest contenders."

That added on explanation didn't really help you either, but Nejire was apparently not going to explain any further. "I'm sure your teacher will explain it to you today. Either way, we should probably get to work, [Y/n]-chan. You have a lot to learn~!"

Groaning, you nodded as Nejire went further over the alphabet with you, before deeming you decent enough for the time being to move on to Japan's history.

The hour went by fast, and as you bid Nejire goodbye, you quickly shoved your stuff in your bag, your head hurting. As much as you loved Nejire, she seemed to love trying to cram as much information into your head as possible, effectively giving you a massive headache. You were only one person! How did she expect you to remember all of Japan's history in the span of 1 hour?!

Rubbing the sides of your forehead, you started to make your way to your classroom, weaving through the other students to the best of your ability. The hallways were wide, but with everybody making their ways to their respective classes, it seemed somewhat crazy. That's why it wasn't really your fault as to what happened next.

"Oof!"

You hadn't realized how much force you had been putting in your "brisk walking pace" (you were _not_ running, just... walking fast!), and unfortunately, somebody else hadn't been given much time to dodge as you collided into him. Both of you fell onto the ground harshly, the guy who was underneath you hitting his head on the tiled floor with a loud _thunk_. Your head had collided into the person's chest, and you winced, immediately using your arms to push yourself up so you were hovering over him.

"I am so sorry!"

He was cute, but not somebody you had seen before, so clearly not one of your classmates. He had messy, purple hair that looked like it had never been styled, and eye bags that made you wonder if this guy got any sleep. Like, at _all_. When he opened his eyes, you noticed they matched his hair, and a light blush adorned his face when he saw how close you face was to his. For a moment, he said nothing.

"Um, are you okay?!"

He blinked slowly, before muttering, "get off," in which you did immediately, bowing and apologizing right away. You offered a hand to help him up, but he got up by himself, rubbing the back of his head slowly. Whether in annoyance or pain, you weren't sure, but you felt like it was your duty to help this guy out. After all, you had been the one to knock him over!

Bowing one more time, you grabbed onto his hand, dragging him along towards the nurse's office as protests rose from his lips. "You have to get your head checked out, what if you have a concussion?!"

"Wouldn't it be your fault?"

You nearly stumbled at the straight-forward question, floundering for words. He shook his head but decided to go along with your antics thankfully as you brought him to Recovery Girl's office.

"Ah, Freecss, who do you have here?"

"Uh... Um..."

Thankfully, he supplied his name, as you had no clue as to who he was. "I'm Shinsou Hitoshi, ma'am." After that, he rubbed the back of his head, untangling your hand from his as the familiar pink hue rose to his cheeks again. "She ran into me and wanted me to get my head checked out."

"It was an accident!" You protested, and Recovery Girl just chuckled, ushering Hitoshi over and probing his head as you stood by awkwardly. You didn't interrupt as she asked him questions, before putting a kiss on his forehead and declaring him good to go. Not before, of course, telling you to be more careful and aware of your surroundings, in which you bashfully agreed, feeling a bit embarrassed from being called out.

"Again, I am so sorry, Hitoshi," you apologized, before perking up. "Hey, can I call you Toshi? I'm [Y/n], by the way! I was kind of in a rush, but maybe it's good, because I ran into you! I'm supposed to make new friends, so we can be friends now, right?"

The poor teen seemed off put by both your blatant friendliness and by your constant stream of questions, and he averted his eyes, wondering what exactly you were up to. Most people tended to avoid him — that much didn't really change from him leaving his school and coming here. Was it possible you would do the same if you found out about his quirk? Your friendliness, while off-putting, was a welcome change. Not that he would say anything.

"I — Call me Shinsou. I don't even know you." He didn't mean to stumble over his words, and you shrugged nonchalantly.

"Hitoshi it is, then! Anyways, what class — "

Interrupting your words was the bell, signifying that class was starting, causing you to jump in alarm. "Ah, I'll talk to you later, it was nice meeting you, Hitoshi! Bye bye!"

With that said, you hauled ass out of there, leaving behind the purple-haired teen in a state of confusion in Recovery Girl's office, wondering what the hell just happened. You had no doubt you'd see him later, but for now, you had to get to class before Aizawa _once again_ got onto your ass about being late.

It was a miracle you made it to the classroom before your teacher, and you quickly sat down in a huff just as the door opened, revealing said teacher as he waddled in like a monster out of some b-rated horror movie, everybody exclaiming in shock.

"Aizawa-sensei, should you be back so soon?!"

"He really looks dead . . . "

Interrupting the throng of voices that arose from your class, Aizawa spoke up. "Quiet down. I have an important announcement to make." It was effective in getting everybody to quiet down, and you shifted in your seat. Was it the sport's festival? "I'd like to take a moment to discuss the upcoming sport's festival."

Immediately voices piped up again, questioning as to whether it was a wise idea to continue on with the sport's festival, and Aizawa quickly hushed them all.

"But sensei, what about the villain attack?" Mina asked, seeming a bit confused that this was still a thing, and you inwardly cursed her. _Don't give him second thoughts, I want to see how this goes!_

"U.A. has decided that it would be best to move forward with the sport's festival to show that we are strong and can handle a crisis," Aizawa told everybody. His voice was a little bit muffled from the bandages, but still clear enough for everybody to hear. Nonetheless, you leaned forward, excited. While it wasn't exactly the action you usually craved, sports were a fun way to let loose and have fun, and with everything that happened a few days ago, letting loose was exactly what the doctor ordered.

Continuing on, Aizawa said, "You all should think about the opportunity that is being presented to you. The U.A. Sport's Festival, as you all know, has taken the place of the Olympics over the past few years. Everybody will be tuned in, including pro-heroes from around the country."

Conversations bubbled up, everybody clearly excited, and Momo spoke up among the excited chatter. "The pros will surely be scouting us all based on our performance!"

You tilted your head, humming. "Scouting... For, like, job opportunities?" you asked, furrowing your eyebrows. Why would they scout based off of sports performances? What did that have to do with being a hero??

Hearing your question, Momo turned around and nodded. "Yes, for the chance to work at a pro agency."

"Did you not watch the sport's festival back in America?"

The question came from Hanta and you pressed your lips together in a line, trying to think of a good response to that. Apparently, this was a big deal that everybody knew about. Everybody except you, apparently. "We watched fighting tournaments, but not the Sport's Festival," you quickly deflected, and Aizawa spoke up again, saving the day and you from being asked any nosier questions.

" _Naturally_ , interning at a pro-hero's agency will grant you more experience and popularity among civilians. This chance only comes once a year, giving you three chances to prove yourself to the pros before you graduate U.A. and start off your careers. If you're going to be a hero, this is the one event you cannot miss!"

After his little speech, conversation broke out again, everybody equal parts excited and nervous. For the most part, you just eavesdropped, wondering what kind of sports you all would be playing. You really hoped for dodge ball, as that was such a fun game to play! You'd annihilate _everyone_.

Ochaco seemed especially determined, her fist clenching tightly as she faced your classmates. "Everybody... let's do our best!"

"YEAH!"

The rest of class had passed by quickly, with you not really paying much attention to your surroundings or classmates (as awful as that seemed). You had two weeks to prepare for the sports festival. While you were confident in your athletic ability, you wondered if it would be good to brush up on your skills a bit. Who knew what sports they were going to have, after all! Anyways, since "moving" here, you had been slacking off a bit on your training...

Lost in your own thoughts and plans about the sports festival, you had nearly missed the commotion going on outside your classroom, looking up only to meet a crowd of people blocking your way out.

"E-eh?! What's this?"

"W-what's going on?!" Ochaco parroted your question, and interested you stood up, peering over your classmates to try and get a better look at the mess of people gathered.

Everybody shared your guys' confusion, Iida chopping his arm down in a motion that stopped at 90 degrees. It was oddly satisfying and perfect to watch, honestly. "What business do you all have with Class 1-A?"

Walking forward and brusquely shoving past you in a way that made an indignant "hey!" leave your mouth was Katsuki, who was entirely unimpressed with the entire situation. "They're scouting out the competition, dumbass. We're the ones who made it out the of the villains' attack."

Fearless of the students that were blocking your guys' only exit, Katsuki continued to walk forward. "There's no point in doing any of that. Out of my way, extras."

At his words, you groaned, and you could see poor Izuku look like he was about to have an aneurysm as Iida's scolding fell on deaf ears. You don't know why the class president tried; you doubted Katsuki has ever actually listened to advice or reprimands his entire life.

A familiar voice that wasn't a part of your class spoke out among the sea of people, and you perked up, peering over Iida's shoulder. "I came to see what this famous Class 1-A was like, but you all seem pretty arrogant. Are all the students enrolled in the hero course like this?"

Everybody else groaned in the class as you all realized that Katsuki was giving everybody literally the worst impression in existence, but you were too preoccupied with seeing your new friend again. "Hitoshi! Hitoshi! It's me!" Jumping up and down, you waved at Hitoshi, all smiles and cheer, and you watched as his tired gaze stopped on you, widening slightly. You wondered if he knew you were in Class 1-A. Probably not, given his reaction.

Either way, he didn't acknowledge any more than that, turning back to Katsuki who stood in the forefront. "Seeing something like this makes me disillusioned. There are quite a few people enrolled in general studies or other courses because they didn't make it into the hero course. This school has left those of us a chance — considering the results of the sports festival, they'll consider our transfer into the hero course." You weren't entirely sure about the school's politics, but Hitoshi kept talking, clearly on a roll with his little monologue. "And it seems they might transfer people out. Scouting out the enemy? I came to say that even if you're in the hero course, if you get too carried away, I'll sweep your feet out from underneath you. This... is a declaration of war."

Honestly, that sounded cool and you had to give Hitoshi credit, especially as he met Katsuki's glare with an unwavering glare of his own. Everybody else, however, seemed perturbed. After all, Katsuki had basically made enemies of all the other classes, and you spoke up, pursing your lips. As much as Hitoshi was your friend... "Chill out, everybody. We made it into the hero course for a reason, but if we want to stay here, that means we have to give it our all!"

You gave your friends a thumbs up, and Izuku nodded, still clearly unsure as somebody else pushed their way to the center of the crowd.

"Hey, hey! I'm from Class 1-B next door!" Popping up, a guy with silver hair nearly startled you. "I heard you fought against villains, so I came to hear 'bout it! Don't get so full of yourself!!"

This guy exuded energy, and you had to wonder why there were so many interesting people out to get you all of a sudden. Was Katsuki _really_ that aggravating to everybody around him, or was Class A just a sore spot for every other class in your year?

The silver guy was still shouting, but it was clear your blond classmate had enough of this as he started to walk away, much to the guy's irritation. He made a move to leave, and Eijirou walked forward. "Wait a minute, Bakugou, what are you going to do about this?! It's your fault everybody's hating on us!"

You nodded in agreement. "Yes, yes, if you hadn't opened your big mouth, things wouldn't be so bad!"

"It doesn't matter," Katsuki said, cutting you off quickly as he glanced back. "It doesn't matter as long as you rise to the top."

_Okay, that was pretty damn cool._

As Katsuki left the room, you weren't the only one left thinking that as Eijirou literally teared up at the blond's statement. "That's so simple and manly!"

"The top, huh...? There's truth in that."

It seemed that Katsuki's words had broken the trance your classmates were in as they all started to talk, some clearly inspired by Katsuki's words, and others the exact opposite, fretting over what this would mean for you all. You were a part of the former group, realizing that Katsuki's words held truth. While you didn't aspire to be a hero by any means and didn't have plans on staying in this world for too long, that didn't mean you should slack off. It especially wouldn't be fair if everybody but you gave their all! In the short time you have known your classmates, you have come to respect them, and for you, doing your best to succeed was how you were going to show that respect.

Grinning to yourself, you fist pumped, catching the people around you off guard as you cheered. "I'm going to give it my absolute all, too!"

The others around you smiled at your enthusiasm, and Momo gave you an appreciative smile. "That's right, we cannot let this deter us. As students of U.A., we must not be daunted, and instead should do our best to get to the top spot during the sports festival." You nodded in agreement with Momo, and this helped loosen the more stressed ones up as everybody started to gather their things and push past the rest of the students.

You had a feeling the next two weeks were going to fly by fast, so you were just going to have to give it your all to prepare!


	13. The Magician's Baile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You confide in a friend; an antagonist from your world makes his appearance.

So apparently you had _totally_ pegged the sports festival wrong. After getting home and pestering Aizawa, he had realized you were clueless about how U.A.'s sports festival worked and sat you down, making you watch videos of previous years. It definitely gave you a better understanding of what to expect, and while you were a bit disappointed that this pretty much meant that you wouldn't be doing any dodge ball, the thought of fighting one-on-one against your classmates sounded amazing! You had seen some of their quirks, and you knew that it would provide a great challenge for you.

You were rearing to go, but Aizawa clearly wasn't done with you yet. "You have to understand that everything will be broadcast on live television. You can't make a mistake with your... _nen_. You have to stay within the parameters of your "quirk", do you understand?"

Groaning dramatically, you rolled your eyes but nodded. "Yeah yeah, I got it, _dad_. I've admitted defeat and will only use enhancer abilities. Does that sound good?"

If you could see Aizawa's face underneath the bandages, you were sure that it was unamused with your behavior, but he nodded anyways. "Just don't do anything stupid. I was filled in on what happened back at USJ, and the last thing we need right now is to attract the attention of those punks." You couldn't find it in yourself to be irritated with the lecture. After all, Aizawa had helped you a lot and was only looking out for you. You really appreciated everything he had done and is still doing for you, and so when you next spoke, you made sure to convey your sincerity.

"I won't do anything reckless, you have my word."

Of course, now that you knew the true nature of U.A.'s sports festival, though, you needed a new game plan. Just training wasn't going to work — you were going to need to start working on your _nen_ again, and without a teacher or anybody to guide you, you knew you were in for a long two weeks. Everybody else was sure to hone in on their quirks to gather some tricks up their sleeves. If you didn't do the same, you stood the chance of being left in the dust, and that wasn't a chance you could take.

However... you could only come up with nothing.

Currently sitting in a café, you were making an attempt to write down ideas. You weren't usually one to write, but it was a good way to practice writing in Japanese as well as get your thoughts in order (although you made sure to put little side notes in your own written language to help you understand). You had an iced chocolate drink that was currently growing warmer the more time you spent ignoring the drink and glaring down at the notebook.

Even just one idea would help! _Something_ that would help you come up with a better ability. Killua had electricity, and Gon had his Jajanken, but you? You had pure, unbridled spite and determination and a _hatsu_ focused on regeneration and boosting your strength. That was it. Nothing cool, nothing fancy, and there was _no_ way you would win the sports festival if you didn't have a trick or two up your own sleeves.

Leaning back in your chair, you pouted, the pen you were holding clattering to the table. Why was this so much harder than you expected?! What you would _give_ to have Bisky back to help guide you.

"[Y-Y/n]?"

Upon hearing your name, you glanced up, [e/c] meeting timid green. Seeing the familiar face of your classmate, you offered a somewhat tight smile, frustration still gnawing at you at your lack of ideas.

"Sit down! I'm here by myself anyways," you said, gesturing to the seat across from you. Seeing Izuku was a surprise, but a nice one; you definitely needed a break from the scribbled mess that was on your notebook right now. "So what are you doing here?"

Izuku scratched the back of his neck but sat down, averting his gaze quickly. "I, ah, wanted to pick up a pastry for my mom..."

You nodded, relaxing a little bit more at the cute reason. With a sigh, you closed your notebook, choosing to finally focus on the iced chocolate. The ice had actually all melted by now, but it didn't stop you from sucking down the sweet drink. "That's nice of you!" you told him in between sips.

Apparently, there was more, though. The freckled teen fidgeted in his seat for a moment, and you raised an eyebrow as he looked like he was mustering up the courage to ask you something. Finally, he managed to do it, but mumbled so low that you could barely hear him as you leaned forward, hoping to catch it.

"Could you repeat that? You're speaking pretty quiet."

Izuku gulped but managed to speak up. Just watching how nervous he was was giving _you_ anxiety. "I just had a question to ask, but, ah, you don't have to answer it! It's sort of personal..."

Curiosity won over any confusion or concern you might have, and you tilted your head to the side. "Well? What's up?"

Fidgeting some more, Izuku finally looked at you again, his eyebrows furrowed in thought. "Well, back at the USJ..." Oh no. "You seemed to recognize that creature. And then, you and Shigaraki had a weird conversation..." He seemed worried, and it only took you a moment to realize why as you flailed your arms about, realizing the conclusion he was coming towards.

"A-ah, I'm not with them, if that's what you're asking!"

Izuku seemed just as startled, becoming embarrassed by your outburst as his face flushed red. "No! That's not what I-I meant!" The reassurance relaxed you, and seeing you calm down, Izuku continued to speak. "It's just... I heard a bit of your conversation with Shigaraki, and it was confusing. He mentioned you were from another world, and even though the authorities said he was making stuff up, you didn't seem confused at all and went along with it..."

That wasn't good either, but you'd rather Izuku think you were some weirdo than a jerk who betrays their friends, and you leaned back, thoughtful. You didn't like keeping secrets or lying to your friends. It _wasn't_ up to you, though. Nezu, Aizawa, and Detective Tsukauchi had all made it clear that it was for your own safety to keep your identity a secret. However, at the same time, having a classmate in on this would be beneficial. Not only was Izuku apparently much more observant than you gave him credit for, but he could help back you up and keep your cover better.

Justifying that this was necessary to keep your cover better, you decided to just tell him everything and fill Aizawa in later. Besides, you were quick to notice that Izuku was quick-thinking in battle. You could use this opportunity to your advantage!

Elbows on the table, you leaned forward, your chin resting on your knuckles. "I don't mind telling you under two conditions," you proposed, and Izuku nodded quickly, surprised that you were actually going to talk about it. "One, you can't tell _anybody_. Seriously, this has to stay a secret!"

The curly-haired boy nodded. After all, he knew better than anybody about life-altering secrets. "Two, you have to help me with something. I'm at a dead end and could really use your brain."

This one wasn't as clear-cut, but after a moment, Izuku nodded again, determination setting on his face.

You stood up, tucking the notebook underneath your arm as you jerked your head over to the counter, grim smile on your face. "Go grab that pastry and then we can go talk somewhere. I can't risk anybody eavesdropping." With your drink already paid for, you headed towards the door, heart hammering violently at the fact that you were about to let somebody else in on your secret.

"W-what?!"

The two of you sat on the swings in an empty park, the cool breeze welcome against your skin. Especially now, after you had told Izuku _everything_. You spared no detail, knowing that if you were going to enlist his help, he had to know the whole story — your origins, Greed Island, how you got here, _nen_ , the mysterious _nen_ user. _Everything_.

You felt a bit bad. Izuku's face was stark white, his freckles popping out in contrast, and you couldn't help but be amused at the same time. It was certainly a lot to drop on him, but it felt like you had gotten a weight off your chest. You didn't realize that keeping a secret this big from people you considered your friends was weighing you down so much, but now you felt freer with the fact that at least somebody else in your class knew. Somebody who wasn't an adult trying to monitor your every move.

Nodding, you looked up at the cloudy sky. "Yep," you responded, popping the 'p' dramatically. "I know it seems crazy, but it's true. Besides you, Principal Nezu, Aizawa, and All Might know, too."

"All Might, too?!"

You nodded again and opted not to say anything. Not that it mattered, because Izuku was speaking again, still reeling at the information you just dumped onto him. "S-so what did you need help on, then...?"

Ah, it was time. Swiveling around on the swing, your toes barely scraped the ground as you faced him. "The sport's festival! I need to figure out a way to use my _nen_ in a way that will still fit my stupid quirk guidelines. I know we'll be competing against each other, but... I could really use your brain!"

The poor boy hadn't expected you to ask something so big of him, but you pressed on, determined. Grabbing both of his hands, you leaned forward, startling him at the closeness between you two. "W-wh—?!"

"I'll tell you everything I can about _nen_ , but I don't have anybody else to help me, so please, Izuku...!"

You gave him your best puppy dog eyes, which apparently worked as Izuku bobbed his head up and down, face reddening. At his agreement, you cheered, leaping off the swing and tackling him in a hug, knocking the poor boy off his own swing and onto the ground.

"Gh—!"

"Oh, sorry!"

You got up off him, taking his hand and yanking him to his feet, which didn't help too much as he stumbled to his feet. Even without _nen_ , you sported some serious muscles, and Izuku muttered something under his breath concerning your strength. You just brushed it off as if you were brushing the dirt off your clothes.

Letting him gather his thoughts, you stretched your arms above you. "I know you can't train with me for the two weeks," you started, "but that's fine. I just need help on figuring out what would be a good way to use my _nen_ , ya know? I can't do a lot of stuff without making people suspicious. In return, I'll answer any questions you have!"

Izuku nodded hesitantly, back to looking thoughtful. "Well, what all can you do with your _nen_ so far?"

"I'm an enhancer, so just strengthening my hits and defense is usually what I do, but... I need more flair," you complained, throwing your arms up in exasperation. "I can also heal extremely fast. That's my 'special ability', if you will. I can store up my _nen_ to heal any injuries and to also give me a temporary power up. I know everybody in class has seen that video of me falling from the sky and just hasn't mentioned it to me. That was two days before I showed up at U.A."

"T-two days!?"

It was quite easy to surprise your friend, it seemed, and you nodded, becoming thoughtful yourself. "Yes... I'm not really sure myself how I healed so fast, but I've been practicing healing myself and others as a part of my ability, by enhancing the cell regeneration process... If that makes sense?"

Izuku was writing notes furiously in his own notebook, nodding along, and you hummed. "Now to think of it... Your quirk has some serious backlash. You really injured yourself back at USJ." Your words caused him to pause as he frowned, but he chose to not reply, instead writing something else down in his notebook.

"What do you say your quirk is?"

With that, you gave him the rundown on what Nezu and Aizawa told you to say, and for the next couple hours the two of you sat in the park, throwing ideas back and forth. You were right to trust Izuku — he had a gold mine of both information and ideas for you to try out, and while you couldn't try them all out at the park lest you risk a passerby seeing (since, after all, public quirk usage was illegal), you wrote down every idea with excitement and the promise to let him know how it all works out. The two of you wound up exchanging numbers before parting ways, you skipping happily back to Aizawa's apartment.

It was a bit of a walk, and soon the sun had set, streetlights turning on to illuminate the empty roads. So wrapped up in your thoughts and excitement to try out all these new moves with your _nen_ , you didn't notice the presence behind you, appearing so quickly. Your ears didn't pick up on the familiar _click clack_ of heels, slow and daunting in their stride.

You did, however, stop when a voice spoke up, a voice familiar and bone-chilling, so much so that you froze exactly where you were, eyes going wide in trepidation. You couldn't move, couldn't bring yourself to turn around, in hopes that it was just some auditory hallucination. You'd welcome that instead of accepting it to be the _real_ thing.

"My, my, if it isn't [Y/n]. I didn't expect to see _you_ here~."

There were a lot of things you didn't expect. You never expected to wind up in another world, you never expected to go to _school_ and get caught up in a "normal" life. Even if you were to expect those things, you would have _never_ expected that the person to find you, the one shot you had at getting back, would be somebody you completely and utterly despised with every drop of blood in your body.

You hadn't realized that you were holding your breath, your heart picking up into a frantic thrum, and you exhaled, breaking the spell of fear that had unexpectedly washed over you. Movements robotic, you finally turned around, your face impassive as you regarded the person before you.

No doubt... It was him in the flesh, a complete and utter fashion catastrophe like always.

"Hisoka."


	14. Go Go Go! U.A.'s Sports Festival!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hisoka's not helpful, but you have way more important things to worry about — namely, U.A.'s sports festival!

_"Hisoka."_

_He hadn't changed a bit, fiery red hair and an outfit that made you visibly cringe with how tacky it was. Not that you would ever say that. Hisoka may be whimsical and flamboyant, but it didn't change the fact he was dangerous as all hell._

_Leering at you, he gestured his hands out in front of him in a flair that only he could manage. "In the flesh."_

_Your mind was racing just as fast as your heart, and you remained rooted in your spot. You couldn't show fear, the_ last _thing you needed was to give Hisoka the satisfaction of knowing that he scared the shit out of you. Well, chances were, he probably already knew and relished the fact._

_"What are you doing here?"_

_Your voice came out much steadier than you expected, and you applauded the effort as he took a step forward. You stood your ground, jaw setting and eyes hardening. You would_ not _allow him to intimidate you!_

_Hisoka kept walking until he was right in front of you, and you crossed your arms defensively but made no attempt to move backwards as you glared up at him. At your resolve, the grin on his face only widened. It was only when he slowly reached his hand out towards you that you jumped back, putting some space in between the two of you as you got into a fighting stance. You weren't stupid enough to believe that you could hold your own against Hisoka, but that didn't mean you were going to roll over and do nothing._

_"Oh? A bit jumpy now, are we~?" God, you hated him. You hated his face, and his personality, and most of all, you hated that sickeningly sweet tone he always got in his voice, syrupy and smooth but with undertones of the true malice that embodied his personality. You said nothing, and he sighed, his arm falling back to his side._

_"I came here to search for somebody. I never expected to find a budding flower, though, especially without her little puppy. What are_ you _doing here?"_

_Gritting your teeth, you became even more defensive. "I have no clue how I wound up here, but if you're here... You must know how to get back, right?"_

_You didn't think it possible, but Hisoka's grin only widened even more, an eerie image that was sure to burn into your brain for later nightmares. It left you feeling unsettled, although that feeling soon gave way to pure rage as Hisoka responded._

_"Hm... Who knows~?"_

_You had no idea what cryptic game this clown was playing, and you felt anger rise within you as you took a step forwards, hands balling into fists. "Hisoka, you—!"_

_He cut you off, giving a little princess wave before turning his back to you, walking away. "Later, [N/n]-chan!"_

_You weren't prepared as he jumped and disappeared, and you took a couple steps forward before slumping. If Hisoka didn't want to be found, there was no way you were going to find him, and you childishly stomped your foot on the ground out of frustration._

_There went your one chance on getting some answers and finding a way back home._

* * *

As soon as you had gotten home that night, you didn't hesitate to warn Aizawa. After all, you felt as if it was somewhat your responsibility for there being a murderous clown on the streets of Musutafu, and he had relayed it to the other pros right away. For a moment, you both had wondered if he was the one helping the League of Villains, but you were quick to dismiss that idea. Hisoka was, well, Hisoka. He was awful and terrible and disgusting, but you knew he wouldn't help the League. Besides, he was looking for somebody, and something in your gut was telling you that _that_ person was the one helping Shigaraki and his stupid boy band. After all, wherever Hisoka went, trouble was _always_ sure to follow.

Either way, you hadn't seen Hisoka since.

Honestly, that was probably for better, but you still had become nervous as a result, especially when you had been alone training. You didn't know when he would next appear, not to mention you were extremely aggravated with the way he just jumped out of there before you could ask him to help you get back.

Man, _fuck_ Hisoka.

Having to put him on the back burner, you instead focused on your training, determined to get that number one spot at the festival. You had been right in thinking that the next two weeks were going to fly by fast, and before you knew it, the day of the sports festival was here. You were confident in your newfound abilities, and excited for something fun to do, but the past couple of weeks had left you with a feeling of nervousness you didn't expect to feel so soon due to that clown.

Not that that was something to worry about right _now_ as you impatiently paced around the waiting room, already dressed in your sports clothes as the rest of your classmates either thought up last-minute strategies or chattered among themselves. You were too tense with anticipation to want to talk yourself, excitement bubbling up inside of you. None of you knew what to expect at first, after all, and you were eager to showcase your new abilities! You had taken Izuku's advice to heart and wanted to show him some of your new techniques that you developed!

Pacing around, your excitement could easily be mistaken as anxiety as you bounced around on your heels, causing those around you to also become anxious just watching your hyperactive form. It wasn't something you did on purpose!

"Midoriya. Freecss."

Hearing your name get called, you turned around to see Shouto standing there, looking as icy as ever as he burned holes into both of you. You had no _clue_ as to what you did to piss this guy off, but clearly, he didn't like you. Or maybe he just had a severe case of resting bitch face... Now to think of it, that might be it. He always looked grumpy.

With everybody's attention on the half-and-half teen, you all waited with bated breath to hear what he had to say to you and Izuku.

"What's up, my man?"

Shouto didn't appreciate your familiar words, and instead met yours and Izuku's eyes evenly.

"Looking at things objectively, I think I'm stronger than both of you."

You were taken aback, both of your eyebrows shooting up. "Um, _excuse_ me?"

Shouto ignored your offended tone and continued, clearly on a roll here as he turned to Izuku first. "But... All Might has his eye on you, doesn't he? I won't pry into it, but I'm going to beat you," he told Izuku, before rounding on you. Clearly, this kid was worked up, and sports festival or not, you were ready to square up, meeting his mismatched eyes with a ferocious glare of your own. It had no effect on him.

"And you," Shouto continued, "are strong enough to catch the eyes of villains. I'll prove that I'm stronger, though."

You bristled. "Do you want to fight right here and now? Because I'll take you down," you threatened, temper rising at the fact that this guy was saying and acting like he was leagues better than you. Oh, you'd murder him!!

Hearing Denki in the background give snark, you felt a hand on your shoulder, looking back to meet the red eyes of Eijirou. He wasn't looking at you, but at Shouto, clearly unimpressed with the latter's behavior. 

"Hey hey hey, why are you trying to pick a fight all of a sudden?" Eijirou asked, exasperated at his classmate's behavior. It had thrown everybody for a loop, especially since Shouto was usually so quiet. "Don't do it now, not when we're about to start!"

Shouto disregarded Eijirou. "We're not here to make friends," he said coldly, before turning on his heels and leaving the room. "So what does it matter?"

With that, Shouto started to take his leave, and the room was silent for a moment as they took in his words. Not here to make friends... That was total BS! Crackling with equal parts indignation and excitement, you couldn't _wait_ to knock that asshole off his high horse. You were so going to make him regret attempting to pick a fight with _you_!

Caught up in your thoughts of enragement, you nearly missed as Izuku stepped forward, right before Shouto left the room. "Todoroki," he started, voice low, "I don't know what you're thinking when you say you'll beat me, but of course you're better than me. I think you're more capable than most people... Looking at it objectively..."

You frowned, looking over at Izuku. "That doesn't give him any right to speak that way," you argued, and Eijirou also piped up from behind you.

"Midoriya, you probably shouldn't be so negative..."

Izuku wasn't finished. "But everyone! The students from the other courses are aiming for the top with everything they've got! I can't afford to fall behind." Determination took over Izuku's face as he looked up, looking Shouto squarely in the face as he turned around to face you all again. "I'll be going for it with everything I have, too."

That was inspirational as hell, and you nodded, pumping your fist. "Yeah! I'm here to give it my 100% all, so don't get too cocky or you'll be left in the dust, _Todoroki_!"

Your use of somebody's last name was probably more shocking than the sudden declarations of war as Shouto nodded at both of you, his face unreadable before he turned on his heels and walked out.

That was _intense_ , and once he left the room it seemed your classmates all breathed a collective sigh of relief, save for Katsuki who hastily stood up, kicked his chair over, and stormed out of the room as well. Seems like _somebody_ didn't like not being singled out and challenged. Probably a shot to his ego, or whatever.

Exchanging a glance with Izuku, you gave him a wry smile, before looking back at Eijirou whose hand was _still_ resting on your shoulder. "Thanks for standing up for us."

At his thanks, he had quickly removed his hand, a light blush adorning his face as he nodded, giving you a toothy grin. "It's just not manly to challenge somebody like that!"

You didn't bother to ask him what he considered manly, instead nodding in agreement and humming, putting your hands in your pockets. "We should all head out, they'll probably want us on the field soon, right?"

Murmurs of agreement resounded throughout the room, and you all finished your last-minute preparations before leaving the small room as well, too nervous to be in one place.

Hearing Present Mic's enthusiastic screaming from outside, you all started to walk through the tunnel leading to the field, your heart stammering in your chest. As light blinded your vision, you were taken aback by how large the stadium was, the risers high and filled with people. 

Was this what you had missed out on when you decided to not go to Heaven's Arena and fight?

While not shy by any means, the fact that millions of people would watch you perform was a bit nerve-wracking. Okay, scratch that — it was way more than 'a bit'! You were confident in yourself, but if you made even one mistake all these people would see it! Apparently it was being televised, too. Great. That meant that the League of Villains, Hisoka, and the mystery _nen_ user would all see you as well.

Maybe this was a mistake, being here?

You had no time to ponder as Present Mic introduced your class, all of you walking to the center towards the stage. Next to you was Momo, and you glanced over at her, feeling nervous. "There are so many people watching us... I'm really excited to show off, but..."

You trailed off, and Momo met your [e/c] eyes, giving you a warm smile. "I'm sure you will do well, Freecss. You're incredibly talented, after all, so let's give it our best."

Nodding, you offered her your best grin, giving her a thumbs up. "We'll do great! And please call me [Y/n], and I'll call you Momo, okay?"

She flushed but nodded, and the two of you didn't bother to talk anymore as the rest of the classes filed out. Their introductions weren't as stellar as Class 1-A's, making you feel bad and remember the hostility that had been directed at your class earlier. Judging by their looks, that hostility was most definitely still there.

Once all classes were in place, a woman in a revealing costume stepped up onto the stage, causing you to immediately flush out of embarrassment at the indecency. She was a teacher here, you recognized her from the art classes you all took but seeing her so brazenly wave around what looked to be a nine tails whip...!

"Quiet, everyone! Representing the students is Bakugou Katsuki from Class 1-A!"

At Midnight's words, you blanched. "We're fucked," you said, earning a reproachful glare from Tenya at your vulgar language. Thankfully, Katsuki either didn't hear you or was too focused on what he was going to say as he walked up, hands shoved into his pockets without a care in the world. Holding your face in your hands, you could already imagine what he was going to say.

"God, everybody is going to hate us if _he_ speaks..."

The others around you agreed in a depressed manner, you all realizing that Katsuki was literally the _worst_ person to give a speech representing the class on stage.

Slowly climbing up the stairs, Katsuki was silent for a moment as he stopped in front of the microphone. "I pledge..." You inhaled sharply, hoping _desperately_ it wasn't going to be as bad as everybody was expecting it to be.

Of course, it was Katsuki, though. "I'll be number one."

God damn it.

He was immediately met with boos from all the classes combined, save for Class 1-A who was currently panicking. Rubbing your forehead, you wondered if it was too late to yeet Katsuki into the sky and take his place.

Unbothered with all the yells, Katsuki turned around, immediately flashing his thumb down at everyone. "At least become a nice bouncy step for me to jump off of." With nothing else to say, Katsuki walked down the steps, ignoring the glares and shouting directed at him. Honestly, it _could_ have been worse — you acknowledged that. While appreciating that he didn't cuss everybody out like you had somewhat expected him to, you still were annoyed by the sheer over-confidence this guy exuded.

Stepping in front of him, you met his gaze evenly, before an uneven grin found its way onto your face at the challenge he had presented.

"It is _on_ , Katsuki. You better be able to back up that talk, because I'm going to annihilate you."

Matching your grin with his own, he shoved past you, stopping to look back over at his shoulder. "You'll see when _I'm_ in first place, you damned newbie. You won't be annihilating shit."

With that said, he walked back to his original place, and you took a deep breath, preparing yourself for what was to come.

It was most definitely _on_.


	15. Always Reaching For the Top

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your first "sport" is an obstacle course!

"An obstacle course, huh?"

You bounced on the balls of your heels, ecstatic at the game as you grabbed the arm of the person closest to you, which happened to be Izuku. "Oh, this is going to be so fun, I'm so excited!"

The others didn't share in your enthusiasm, everybody else too tense at the qualifier round for the festival. Oh well, as long as you were enjoying it, it didn't matter, right? This would be a chance to show your worth and leave everybody in the dust! Call you childish, but you loved games. Oh, you just wish Gon and Killua were here, they would get a kick out of this!

All of you crowding the entrance, you tilted your head at the narrow pathway, already coming up with both a game plan and your own sweet revenge for Katsuki's earlier speech.

As the lights started to count down, you bounced from one leg to the other, unable to suppress the wide smile on your face as Midnight finally yelled out "Start!", signaling the start of the first round.

You jumped up immediately, using your _nen_ to boost the power in your legs to propel you above the others. There was no way you'd squeeze through that crowd — talk about claustrophobic. Instead, you took Katsuki's speech to heart, jumping above the people by using your peers as steppingstones. Singling out a familiar head of spiky blond hair, you made sure to jump on his shoulders before launching yourself up.

"Thanks for being my _steppingstone_ , Baku-bro!"

He was definitely going to kill you for that later, but _damn_ did it feel good to make him eat his words!

Feeling a blast of cold air, you involuntarily shivered as you looked down, watching the ground freeze over, effectively trapping almost everybody in place as you got out of the tunnel and launched into the air, flipping slightly to see the source of the cold. Naturally, it was Shouto, breezing his way along the path and currently in first place.

Feeling something grab the back of your head before forcing you down, you shouted in dismay, looking up to see that Katsuki had blasted himself forward and shoved you down.

Yeah, you deserved that.

Flipping so you landed on your feet, you slid across the ice, waving your arms around frantically in an attempt to keep yourself from falling since ice skating wasn't really your forte. However, just sliding across the ground was not going to get you anywhere, and grumbling under your breath, you slid over to the small wall.

Normally, you'd use _nen_ to allow yourself to run along it; however, how the hell would that be explained? You had to win by following the rules, and that just meant getting creative.

Steadying yourself against the wall, you focused your _ko_ on your foot, stomping it down and shattering the ice and ground. It was messy, for sure, but at least you wouldn't be slipping every few moments, now.

No time for hesitation, you once again started to run.

Rounding the corner, you realized you were in third currently, with Shouto ahead of you and, surprisingly enough, Minoru in between you both.

He was swiftly approaching Shouto, too, and you were just about to put in a burst of speed when a giant hand came out of _literally_ nowhere and swatted him out of the air, sending him flying.

"Oh, rest in peace man," you blurted out, skidding to a stop. In front of you all were three _gargantuan_ robots, all facing towards you and blocking the rest of the path. You didn't have to fight them, just get around them, yeah?

Sensing everybody behind you come to a stop as well, you slapped your cheeks before letting out a battle cry. Like hell you were going to let this stop you, a moment of hesitation could be your downfall!

Gathering _nen_ solely in your legs and arms, you shot forward like a slingshot, zipping through and up one of the robots, climbing and jumping up. What was supposed to be a simple task got a hell of a lot harder when ice started to cover the entire robot you were on, approaching you at an alarming rate.

"Wha— _Shouto!_ "

You had no other option. Taking a deep breath and praying to the stars that this would work, you launched yourself above and over the robot to avoid the ice, immediately shrouding your body in your _nen_ so you didn't die when you inevitably landed on the ground. The force of your jump had pushed the robot you were on down, and you looked behind briefly to see them all crash, causing you to wince.

Hopefully, nobody got hurt.

Bracing yourself, you gritted your teeth as the wind whipped your hair back, Shouto already running ahead.

"Breaking through and in the lead is Class 1-A's Todoroki Shouto, having frozen the robots in place!" Shouting from above the entire time was Present Mic, trying his best to MC the course. "And what's this?! Falling from the sky and also from Class 1-A is Freecss [Y/n] — is falling from the sky a habit for her?! With her quirk, Boost, she can enhance her capabilities at will, making for both the perfect defense and offense! As expected from Class 1-A!"

Just as you roughly landed on the ground, shock traveling up your legs, Shouto had looked behind in surprise, not expecting for somebody else to have made it through so quickly. Without a moment to lose, you forced yourself to run again. Thanks to your _nen_ , besides the soreness permeating through your limbs at your jarring landing, you weren't injured in any other ways. That's good — last thing you needed was to waste your _nen_ on an injury in the qualifier rounds.

Hearing shouts behind you and knowing full well the others would make haste to catch up, you sprinted forward, yelling at Shouto all the while.

"You jerk, you could have killed me!"

He didn't acknowledge you whatsoever, clearly focused on the obstacles ahead. Or, the pit of DOOM.

Joking. Sort of.

Sprawling ahead of you was a large pit with small platforms, and you skidded to a stop to avoid running off the edge. When did they have time to do this?! It was insane!

Taking a step back as you felt a few people catch up, you analyzed the situation before you, humming in thought. You could use your _nen_ in your legs again (your poor legs were going to be _screaming_ by the end of this), but if you over-launched yourself you were definitely going to be in for a wild ride. Your best bet would be to run across the ropes and use your _nen_ to stay on top so you didn't slide, but running in a very straight line might be a bit difficult...

Agh! You didn't have time to debate on how to get across or you were going to fall behind! Already, Shouto was sliding along one of the ropes with ease, Katsuki right behind him in a mass of fiery explosions.

"Dang it..."

Slapping your cheeks to bring some sense into yourself, you decided to just run across. If you fell, you could just climb back up the side of the rocks and use your _nen_ to protect yourself from impact. Focusing everything into the bottoms of your feet, you went for it.

Running across tightropes was unnerving. Even with the security of your _nen_ keeping you on top, the fall was daunting at _best_ and absolutely terrifying at worst. You weren't afraid of heights normally, but damn this was freaky! Ignoring the shouts behind you (you were positive somebody had shouted, "Freecss, you're a psycho to do that!") you pressed forward.

Seeing a streak of pink speed past you, you couldn't help the grin on your face at the familiar face. It had been a minute since you last saw Hatsume Mei, and you were absolutely ecstatic that she was making it so far! You were also glad to see those hover boots were definitely working a lot better for her — hopefully they weren't burning her feet off like they did to yours.

Running as fast as you could, you finally made it to the opposite side of the chasm, running a hand through sweaty, [h/c] tangles as you continued to run. Hopefully, you were almost done with the obstacle course. After all, you had all been running for quite a bit, right?

Running up the large set of red stairs, you were displeased to be right behind Katsuki, pushing yourself to your hardest to get ahead of him.

"Oi, hot head!"

Catching his attention with the totally unoriginal name, his only response was a scream of pure, unadulterated rage as he blasted forward.

". . . Good talk."

Shaking your head at his antics in exasperation, you pushed forward, soon coming to another stop to assess what looked to be the final obstacle course — a minefield. A fucking _minefield_.

This school was really terrifying sometimes!

You were at a loss. Sure, your _nen_ could protect you, but you weren't entirely sure that it would prevent you from blowing your legs off, still. That's not to mention that those in the lead were at a disadvantage; those further back had the advantage because sure enough, you were likely to get rid of some mines for them.

Running a hand down the side of your face, you cursed. As an enhancer, you could only do so much with your _nen_ , and you wished that you were born with some sort of conjurer or transmuter _nen_ type so you could form wings or something. Life was cruel, however, and that wasn't what you were born with, meaning you were going to have to make do with your _nen_ to somehow not get blown to bits in this obstacle course.

Going around them was going to be _way_ too time consuming, and as Katsuki blasted by you, hovering over the ground, you gritted your teeth.

Damn, no way you were going to lose to those losers...!

Up ahead, you could see Katsuki and Shouto go head-to-head, advancing while fighting each other. Of course, Katsuki couldn't just take a win. More and more people passed you as well while you tried to think up the best solution.

_Come on you dumb brain, think!_

Izuku had caught up to you at this time, and you spared him a glance as he started digging up mines with what looked to be a piece of one of the robots from earlier.

Wait...

Grinning as Izuku leapt forward with the makeshift shield underneath him, you followed his actions, gripping tightly onto your friend. "I'm sorry to use you like this Izuku, but I won't lose!"

You had a death grip on the poor teen, who had no time to shake you off as the shield came in contact with the mines, immediately causing a large explosion and launching the two of you in the air at record speed. It was honestly a lot of fun!

"Yahoo!” Whooping with joy in Izuku's ear, you watched in awe as everybody became like ants below you both, shooting forward and past Shouto and Katsuki. The momentum of the blast had rocketed you and Izuku near the end of the minefield and ahead of everybody else, putting the two of you into first place. The only problem was that your landing was going to be _really_ rocky if the two of you didn't come up with a solution soon!

Clinging to Izuku's back like a koala as Katsuki and Shouto targeted the both of you, Izuku swung the shield out from underneath him, stepping on both Shouto and Katsuki as he slammed the shield on the ground, right over the mines. Oh god, another blast like that...!

"W-Wait—!"

The force of the explosion shot the two of you forward and you flung off Izuku's back and past the minefield, rolling in the dirt unceremoniously. Izuku managed to land on his feet, shouting a quick apology to you before running off towards the end. Oh, you were so going to get him back for that, you didn't even have time to use _nen_ to protect yourself!

Forcing yourself to a stand, you didn't have time to look back as you ran forward as well, knowing Shouto and Katsuki were right on your tail. Back in the tunnel, you heard shouting behind you and quickly ran up the wall, boosting your speed as much as you could before light assaulted your vision.

"And the first one on the field is... Class 1-A's Midoriya Izuku!"

Jumping out right after Izuku, you deflated, falling to your knees dramatically. "Second place... Second place?! To _Izuku_?!" As much as you loved your friend, he tended to injure himself whenever he used his quirk, so you didn't really consider him a contender for this game. That proves to you just how much you probably _shouldn't_ be underestimating people, because it was due to your over-confidence against him that you wound up in second place instead of first.

Coming out into the clearing behind you were Shouto and Katsuki, both clearly fired up and pissed they had lost to the both of you, and you continued to sulk. Maybe next round... Yeah! Maybe next round you would make it in first place!

Standing up and brushing the dirt off, you noticed that Izuku was crying and made your way over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder and startling him. "As mad as I am that I got second... You were awesome, Izuku!"

He nodded, giving you a wobbly and apologetic smile. "About earlier, I'm sorry you—"

You cut him off, making a giant 'x' with your arms as you stepped back. "No apologizing! We may be friends, but this is a competition as well, so we all have to do our best to _be_ the best! Right?"

"R-right!"

Although you wouldn't quite call it a motivational speech, you nodded, proud of it anyways as more of you classmates filtered into the arena.

When everybody was there, you all wound up gathered around the stage again, with Midnight announcing the results on a board.

**1st: Midoriya Izuku** **  
2nd: Freecss [Y/n]  
3rd: Todoroki Shouto  
4th: Bakugou Katsuki**

Ouch. You winced at Katsuki getting fourth place, knowing full well he was fuming over his results, but you had no time to think about it as Midnight got ready to announce the next game.

. . .

"A cavalry battle? What's that?" You asked, tilting your head in confusion. Nobody offered up an explanation for you, too engrossed into Midnight and to hear the rules to really help you out here. Thankfully, Midnight was on your side and explained the game to everybody, and so you listened intently. It was a team exercise, huh?

Almost missing out on the explanation of points as you debated on who you wanted on your team, Midnight then announced, "and the person in first place.... has ten million points!"

Immediately, all eyes were on Izuku, and you put a comforting hand on his shoulder, giving him a sympathetic glance.

"You are _so_ dead, man."


	16. Go Seize It!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teamwork makes the dream work, but you're not really a teamwork person . . . Well, good luck!

The problem with team battles was that they were definitely not your forte. You weren't necessarily what you'd call a "team player", but this wasn't a game that you could exactly do by yourself, either. In other words, you felt screwed.

The thing was, you didn't want to team up with Izuku. You loved him, sure, he was a great friend! But you did _not_ want that ten million points issue on your team, because then everybody would be targeting you and that was just not something you were prepared for.

Your next option was Shouto, but he seemed dead set on who he wanted on his team, and everybody was crowding Katsuki in an attempt to be on his team. Humming, you looked around as everybody started to talk and form their own alliances for the time being. Honestly, you were kind of offended nobody had come up to _you_ to invite you to be on their team, yet. What was up with that?! You were amazing!

On cue, you were approached by Minoru, the kid only reaching about the height of your waist as his eyes gleamed up at you.

"[Y/n], join my—"

"Hell no."

Walking away and leaving him in the dust, you looked around in thought. If possible, you wanted to work with somebody new, but the downside to that was that you didn't know what to expect when working with somebody who's quirks you don't know.

Feeling a finger tap your shoulder, you whirled around to see a familiar face crowded by crazy purple hair, your eyes brightening up.

"Hey, [Y/n]."

"Toshi!"

Gathering the teen in a hug, you pulled back, grasping his hands as an idea hit your brain. "Hey, Hitoshi, let's team up!"

He seemed a bit shocked for a moment, but then nodded, an unsure look on his face before he gave you a grin. "We already have two other members, so we're set," he reassured you, and you cheered in response, following him to where the other teammates supposedly were. The entire time he kept shooting glances over at you, purple eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Was he confused that you wanted to team up with him?

"Is something wrong?" you asked him, unable to suppress your curiosity, but he simply shook his head as you two stopped in front of two of your classmates. Tilting your head to the side, you hummed. "Mashirao Ojirou and Yuuga Aoyama, right?"

Thankfully, neither one acknowledged you said their names backwards. In fact, Mashirao didn't acknowledge you at all, staring blankly, and you shook your head as Yuuga nodded, giving you a wink.

Okay then.

Turning to Hitoshi, you grinned, pulling them in a huddle. "Alright, so what's the plan? I don't know your quirk, so you'll have to take the lead," you told him, and he hummed, nodding once. 

"You'll see what it is later. I'll be the rider, he," Hitoshi motioned towards the blanked out Mashirao, "will be the front horse, and you and your other classmate will support from the sides."

You nodded, opting to not bother Hitoshi for now. "Aye aye! I'm lacking on the defense front right now, but I'll certainly try my best!" you cheerily replied.

After a bit of discussing, it was agreed to go with Hitoshi's set-up, and just in time too as the buzzer blared, letting you all know that the second game was about to start. Everybody else had sectioned off into their own teams, and you hummed, eyes sharp and cautious as you examined your opponents.

"Izuku, Shouto, and Katsuki are all on different teams... I know Shouto and Katsuki will most likely be after Izuku, but we should keep an eye out for them as well..." Your words were low and meant more as a personal observation than a comment to your teammates, but Hitoshi nodded anyways in agreement.

Getting into position, you all tensed, and you frowned at a realization right before Midnight called for the start of the game.

"... Hitoshi, what was your quirk again?"

The horn blared as everybody leapt towards Izuku, your team staying behind for a moment as Hitoshi grinned from above you.

"Mind control."

"E-eh?!"

He had no time to elaborate as you all were pushed into the fray yourselves, you immediately on the defense. Watching as Izuku's team sunk slowly into the ground, your team moved around with ease, and you had no time to ask Hitoshi if he could elaborate on what he means by mind control. He wasn't controlling you, right? Would you be able to tell? You weren't sure, but were positive you were acting of your own free will and were grateful that Hitoshi hadn't used his quirk on you to force you to be on his team if it was true.

Not that it mattered right now. You most certainly did not have the time to worry about it as Hitoshi's hand shot out, grabbing the headband of a nearby team filled with what looked to be Class B students. Already, you guys had gotten one other headband, but you still had leagues to go if you were going to wind up in first place!

Seeing movement from the corner of your eyes, you saw something flash towards you, and on instinct you raised your free arm to shield yourself.

_Ko!!!_

It was basic and instinctual. From the moment you had been learning _nen_ , you had to learn how to protect both body and mind from other _nen_ attacks; while quirks weren't the same — _they_ were derived off genetics and evolution — your _nen_ worked just as well to protect your arm, barely even budging from your spot as you were hit. You barely even flinched, locking eyes with your assailant and brightening up in recognition.

"Oh, you're that guy from 1-B, the loud one!"

"Your skin is like armor!"

Knowing his team would try hard to grab either of your headbands, you shoved him back roughly, spurring your team to move away before they could recover. It'd be nice if you could project some sort of shield around you, but not only would that have required you to practice in the emitter category, but there is no _way_ that would fit into your quirk description.

Watching as Izuku and his team soared through the air, you whistled, impressed. "I'm surprised they still have their headband, that's — whoa!"

You were not appreciative of the next team that tried to attack you all. The rider had a decent number of headbands and a smile on his face you decidedly hated as he whistled, noting how you had used your _nen_ to protect yourself from the brunt of the attack last minute. "That's an interesting quirk, 1-A, but how long will you keep it up for?"

Gritting your teeth, you didn't bother to answer. It was none of his business!

The blond rider quickly reached towards you, grabbing your arm. You were quick to shake him off. Why did he go after you, and not Hitoshi who had the headbands?

"I'm sure your quirk will help me out a lot!"

Um, what?

Behind him, you could hear Katsuki's enraged yelling as it headed closer to both of your teams, and you pressed your lips together, shaking your head. "You know what, do whatever, but we gotta blast. See ya, _definitely_ don't wanna be ya!"

Moving as one, your team managed to get out of there before you could lose your headbands, and you watched in confusion as the blond tried to defend himself from Katsuki, only for nothing to happen. Earlier, he had said something about basically using your 'quirk' (poor kid didn't know that you didn't have a quirk to begin with), but you could ponder that later.

"The tournament is more than halfway through, with Midoriya still in the lead!"

You all still had _seven_ minutes?

Glancing up at Hitoshi, you grimaced as you tried to think up a winning strategy. At this point, you guys weren't doing so well. Granted, you could be doing _way_ worse, but you couldn't rest until your team was at the top! With Shouto and Izuku facing off right now, this might be your best chance to nab a decent amount of points with the top three teams distracted with their own problems. "We have to go big or go home, Hitoshi," you told him.

"I don't think you really know what that means..."

Shaking him off (you had done _so_ much research on using the lingo of this world, after all!), you grinned in response. "Yeah I do. It means we have to win!"

Rushing forwards, you all had advanced on Izuku, ready to nab the ten million, until a bright light filled the area. You didn't have time to defend or dodge, and nearly dropped Hitoshi in shock at the electrifying quirk of your classmate Denki. Feeling your entire body tingle and burn, your team was stuck in place for Shouto to freeze the ground, effectively trapping you all and blocking off himself and Izuku's team in one fell swoop.

"Cold cold cold!"

In a burst of _ren_ , your aura shattered the ice around you and your teammates, freeing you guys up as you all carefully moved away, not wanting to slip on the ice that still covered the ground. Yuuga did a good job at using his navel laser to melt a path for you guys, as well.

Holding up two more headbands, you sighed in relief as Hitoshi put them around his neck. With those, you were still below the top four on the leader board, and you could feel frustration build up within yourself.

 _No..._ _One minute left...!_

It was intense. Having strained yourself between the obstacle course and having to help carry Hitoshi, you were running low on stamina and energy. Nonetheless, you kept pushing through, refusing to give in as your team maneuvered through ice and foe alike. Yuuga, Hitoshi, Mashirao — they were counting on you to keep it up! If you buckled in now, you'd be letting your team down and would not advance in the sports festival.

That was just something you could not allow!

"We're so close...!" you exclaimed through clenched teeth, holding tightly onto Hitoshi. You could last, you all would make it through!

Hearing the crowd yell as Present Mic announced that Shouto's team had managed to snatch Izuku's headband, putting him at zero points. No way would you all be able to get those points from Shouto's team in time!

"Push forward!"

Nodding at Hitoshi's command, you all rushed forward, Present Mic starting a countdown as your team zipped through, snatching three more headbands in the running. There was no time to look at the point values or to take a glance at the board, and just as Hitoshi managed to grab one more, the horn blared again, signaling the end of the match as you all came to a shuttering halt.

Panting, you slowly looked up at the board in trepidation, anxiety welling up in your stomach.

_We got..._

"Third?!"

Gently setting Hitoshi down, you snatched the headbands from him, counting up the points to indeed confirm that your team had made it in the top four with just seconds to spare. You quickly hugged the lavender haired boy, and then Mashirao and Yuuga too as you jumped up and down in excitement.

"We made it, we made it!"

For a moment there, you had been terrified that your team wouldn't make it, but you all had pulled through! Still... That was scarily close, and you hoped that you wouldn't have to deal with anymore close calls in the future, for the time being. It was stressful and working with a team was not something you were quite used to.

Watching as Mashirao looked around in confusion, you gave him one last hug, confusing the teen even more.

"Um... Freecss?"

"Call me [Y/n]! We're moving on to the next round!" You cheered in his ear, causing the teen to flinch before you pulled away. In the end, the winning teams were Shouto, Katsuki, yours, and Izuku. You were glad your friend also pulled through in the end, and as you looked around at the remaining people, you clenched your fists. Most likely, you'd be fighting in the next round, and a lot of the people who made it would be formidable opponents, but even still...!

Pumping your fists in the air, you cheered.

This was only the beginning!


	17. Anthology — 1-5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A collection of short scenes that happened during the story.
> 
> [1] — You get adopted by Aizawa.  
> [2] — You teach Izuku about nen, and come up with a schedule to train.  
> [3] — Mina asks you on a date.  
> [4] — Denki teaches you the lovely way of memes.  
> [5] — After learning about anime, you find a group to geek out with.

_[1] Dadzawa_

You were late. Aizawa Shouta wasn't one to worry by all means, but it was way past curfew, and with your circumstances and the USJ incident he was, well... _worried_.

Sitting at the messy dining room table, papers from class scattered everywhere, Aizawa glanced over at the time in irritation. Five more minutes. He'd give you _five_ more minutes before he took action. You weren't punctual in general, but this was late, even for _you_ , and he worried that the League had—

Cut off from the slew of thoughts that raced in his head, the door slammed open, revealing your frazzled form. [H/c] hair was sticking out everywhere, and you were panting. Clearly you had gotten some exercise in.

"You're late."

His voice came out flat, his eyes narrowed. It was easy to tell he was mad, and you immediately bowed, shutting the door behind you.

"I'm sorry!" you quickly apologized. "I got carried away while training for the sport's festival."

Your explanation made him sigh, and he ran a hand through messy locks. "At least let me know if you're going to be late next time. I thought..."

His voice trailed off, and you tilted your head out of confusion. Why was he worried? It wasn't like he was your family, so you were a bit baffled at why he worried for you. He was like a dad. It didn't bother you, though — in fact, you were touched. Growing up with only Gon's aunt as your parental figure, it was nice to have a dad-like figure in your life. You giggled slightly, adding onto his annoyance with you, and asked, "Is this what a dad acts like?"

Your question confused him. "I... suppose. What do you mean?"

You shrugged, sitting down at the table with him. "I don't know my parents. I grew up with Gon's aunt as the closest thing to a parent. It's... nice," you finished lamely, before stretching your arms up above your head.

While it didn't seem like you cared about your childhood circumstances, Aizawa frowned slightly, annoyance ebbing into pity. From what you had told him, you had a rough life. Going to school and being here was probably the most routine and normalcy you had gotten _in_ your life.

Before he could say anything in response, you were talking again. "Is it fine if I just call you 'dad'?"

The question threw Aizawa completely off guard, taking him aback as he looked over at you with widened eyes. You weren't bothered, instead staring at him curiously. You only grew a bit flustered when Aizawa didn't answer right away, with your hands flailing around as you spoke up. "I mean, it's fine if you don't want me to! It's just — I mean, I just see you as a dad! I think! I don't know, I, well, I've never had a dad before..." Trailing off, you looked down, fiddling with the hem of your shirt and refusing to meet his eyes.

"[Y/n]."

Upon hearing your name, you still didn't look up, and you heard Aizawa sigh before you heard movement. It was only when you felt a hand on your shoulder that you looked up, seeing Aizawa kneeling down to your height. You still didn't say anything, pressing your lips together in a thin line and preparing yourself for him to tell you that he wasn't your actual dad.

"It's fine."

[E/c] eyes widened in shock. "What?" you asked, and Aizawa let out yet another sigh at your in-eloquence.

"Look," he started, rubbing the back of his head as he grumbled, "I'm not the best at this stuff, but I'm glad you trust me enough. If you want to call me 'dad'... Then go ahead. I don't mind."

A grin appeared on your face, and in an instant you enveloped him in a tight hug, your eyes tearing up. After a moment, you pulled away.

"Does this mean that my other dad is Present—"

"[Y/n], shut up."

"Yes, dad!"

* * *

_[2] Super Horribly Intense Training Schedule_

It was raining outside, a cloudy drizzle that could easily make people feel gloomy — but not you. You were currently sitting in a café, Izuku opposite of you as the two of you (quietly) discussed your _nen_ and how it works. Izuku seemed to pick up pretty fast, and you were thankful that he was a fast learner. You had made the right choice in trusting him with your secret, and he was proving to be extremely helpful so far!

"S-so, just to make sure I've got this right," he said, looking down at his notes that he took, " _Nen_ is a sort of energy—"

"Aura," you corrected.

"Aura," Izuku repeated, "that surrounds all living beings in your world, but only few can utilize it." You nodded, and he continued. "With _nen_ you have different subcategories. There's _ten_ , which means you cover your body in this aura to strengthen and train it. _Zetsu_ , which means you cut off your aura completely and conceal your presence. _Ren_ , which is like _ten_ but in a larger amount for exercise in training. _Hatsu_ , which is your special ability?"

You nodded at his question, humming as you stared down at the warm drink in your hands. "Sort of? Explaining _hatsu_ is hard, especially since I haven't really developed mine yet," you apologized. "But continue! If you don't understand everything, then you won't be of any help."

Your bluntness seemed to fluster Izuku, but his head bobbed up and down nonetheless, his curls bouncing along as he began to read along with his notes again. "Then there's _gyo_... That's used to see _nen_?"

"I can also enhance my hearing with it, but yes! It's mostly used for _nen_ to focus in the eyes and see other _nen_ clearly."

Another nod from Izuku. " _In_ , which is a more advanced form of _zetsu_ to conceal... _shu_ , which can be used to shroud an object with your aura and make it more efficient... _En_ , which is like a _nen_ radar and helps you detect living beings... _Ko_ , which is where you focus all your _nen_ on one body part to defend or strengthen... _Ken_ , which is like _ko_ but all over your body... and then _ryu_ , which is the technique of constantly switching from _ko_ and _ken_ for the perfect defense and offense."

Finally finished, you gave him an appreciative grin, taking a sip from your drink. "Correct! Good job, Izu!"

Your nickname made the freckled boy blush, and he stirred the ice in his water, contemplative. "[Y/n], how did you remember all of this?"

Your reply came quickly and earnestly. "My teacher beat it into me. Literally."

"W-what?!"

Your nonchalant response made him wonder just how different your worlds were again, but he didn't question it, instead looking down at his notes once again. "And then there are _nen_ _types_... And you're an enhancer?"

"Yep!" you agreed. "So basically, I just enhance my _nen_ super well. It's probably the most basic type, but I feel like it's also the most, well, flexible. It makes my punches and kicks extremely strong, kind of like your quirk without the destructive rebound!" Izuku winced at you mentioning his quirk which still had a habit of backfiring on him, but knew you well enough by now to know you didn't mean any harm or offense with your words. You were just an extremely blunt person.

With the recap out of the way, Izuku tilted his head, seeming to think over your _nen_ and the countless ways you could use it. "You use it for offense a lot, right?"

You nodded as it that was the dumbest question ever. "Well, of course!"

"Could you enhance your healing with it?"

His question threw you off guard, and you rested your chin on your hands. "I mean, duh... My only _hatsu_ , if you can call it that, is a form of restoration. The longer I meditate, the more I'll heal and feel energized," you admitted, tapping your nose in thought. "I think the most I've done was when I first got here, though, and I was unconscious for that to begin with."

Izuku leaned forward, eyes sparkling. You could tell he had a few ideas for you, and you waited impatiently, wanting to hear his take on your abilities. "If you spent these two weeks trying out defensive and healing techniques, you could really improve your overall strength! Like hardening your skin like Kirishima, or an ability that automatically protects from attacks in your blind spots...!"

Catching on to his idea, you nodded excitedly, your own mind starting to race. "I never really considered working on my defense, but you're right! I could become a tank! Can I have a piece of paper from your notebook?"

Your question threw Izuku off guard, but he handed you a piece of paper anyways, watching as you messily scribbled on the paper in Japanese.

"'Super Horribly Intense Training Schedule'...?" Izuku read the title out loud as you continued to write down ideas and what you'd need to do.

You finished quickly, nodding. "Yes! The _Super Horrible Intense Training Schedule_ , or the SHIT schedule for short!"

Your vulgarity made Izuku flush.

"[Y-Y/n]!"

Standing up, you pulled Izuku from his seat and hugged him tightly, before planting a quick kiss on his cheek. "You're perfect, thank you so much! I can't wait to train!"

Without further ado you had thrown a couple yen coins on the table for your drink before racing out of the café, leaving Izuku an overheated, blushing mess. Slowly, his hand touched the cheek where your lips had been, his entire face tingling and warm.

You were certainly interesting, that was for sure.

* * *

_[3] It's A Date!_

"[Y/N]!"

Packing up your stuff for the day, you looked up to see your pink-skinned classmate bounding up to you. Immediately, she grasped your hands and you leaned forward, confused as to what she wanted.

"Go out with me!"

Her blunt wording caused everybody nearby to swivel their heads in your guys' direction, but neither you nor Mina were abashed at the attention the two of you received. Mina was intently focused on you, and you were trying to discern her words. Go out with her where? Why you? You had questions.

Your classmates were also confused. "Hey, no fair, I want to go on a date with [Y/n]!" you heard the voice of Denki complain in the background as a couple others chimed in with either wanting to go on a date or just the fact that both you and Mina were girls.

Without any more hesitation, you nodded. "Okay!"

"SHE SAID YES?!"

Ignoring the uproar around both of you, Mina cheered, raising her hands in the air (and, consequently, yours since you two were still holding hands). You joined her in cheering, still a bit confused but happy nonetheless. Mina's excitement was infectious, after all, so you two just jumped around for a moment until Katsuki decided to ruin the mood.

"Can you two be fucking idiots somewhere else?"

You and Mina broke a part, and you hummed, not missing a beat with your comeback. "Are you jealous that we're being more of an idiot than how you normally are?"

This definitely set Katsuki off. "What did you say, you fucking bitch?!"

At Katsuki's insult, Tenya immediately began to reprimand him, and you turned to Mina. "So why are we going out?" you asked her, and she started to whine, slumping dramatically.

"I want to go shopping, but everybody else is training for the festivalllll!"

You nodded sympathetically. You were always down for a shopping trip! With your afternoon tutoring sessions with Nejire put on hold in lieu of the sport's festival, it gave you a bit more free time, so you grabbed up your stuff and grabbed Mina's hand cheerily, leading her out of the classroom.

"Okay, let's go now! It's a date!"

Both of you skipped out of the room, leaving the rest of your classmates behind in shock at what just happened, and at the thought of you and Mina going on a _date_.

Not having realized that you and Mina had left until it was too late, Katsuki kicked over a desk (earning more ignored scolding from Tenya) before stalking out of the classroom.

The silence was broken by Minoru, who immediately said, "Man, I bet it's going to be _hot_ , those two going on a — _guh_!" He was cut off by a quick chop to the head by Eijirou, and finally everybody began to act normal again, ignoring their now in-pain and very perverse classmate. All except for Shouto, who seemed more moody than usual as he sat at his desk.

 _Damn it... Ashido beat me to the punch_.

* * *

_[4] Blending In_

Living in a new world was an adjustment. You had to learn a new language, get used to the vast change in technology, and the whole _culture_ shock. It was extremely difficult, but you could now say proudly that you were getting the hang of everything. You could read and write in Japanese (with _some_ struggle, sure, but you were doing so much better now!), seeing airplanes and the more modern vehicles didn't scare the shit out of you, and while you still stayed on a first-name basis with everybody, you became more respectful of other customs and people's boundaries here.

There was just one thing that you struggled with.

"So, uh, what's a meme?"

You were sitting with the self-proclaimed Bakusquad at lunch today — Mina, Denki, Hanta, Eijirou, and, of course, Katsuki. Your sudden question had made everybody, even Katsuki, stare at you as if you had grown a second head. It wasn't your fault, though! Somebody had mentioned it earlier, but when you tried to look it up, all you got was a bunch of weird pictures with captions!

"Are you fucking stupid?"

The first to get over the shock was, understandably, Katsuki, and Hanta was next to talk, looking extremely confused by your extremely off-topic question.

"Are you... serious?"

Your face showed no signs of joking as you nodded, and everybody sighed. How does one explain the concept of a meme? They were all at a loss at answering your question, the table going silent as you continued to eat, not realizing how at a loss your friends were.

Eijirou was the first to try to explain, his words slow as if he was unsure himself. "It's like... An internet sensation that is turned into a joke. There're too many ways to really describe a meme," he tried, and you nodded slowly. Clearly, you didn't understand.

Denki was next. "How about you give me your number and I can text you examples?"

It was a smooth way to get your phone number, but it worked as you readily exchanged numbers and put Denki's contact in your phone.

"Wait wait wait, I want [Y/n]'s number, too!" Mina whined, and soon enough you had exchanged numbers with everybody at the table, even Katsuki, who shoved his phone at you begrudgingly. Soon enough, Denki was texting you images.

**To:** [Y/n]  
 **From:** Denki-chu

**[12:25 pm]: _[[image attached]](https://quotesnhumor.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Funny-Wednesday-memes-7-1.jpg)_  
[12:25 pm]: _[[image attached]](https://i.chzbgr.com/full/9233906688/h5B83A679/)_  
[12:25 pm]: _[[image attached]](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/001/424/525/c0d.jpg)_  
[12:26 pm]: _[[image attached]](https://images7.memedroid.com/images/UPLOADED799/5db7c451e6769.jpeg)_**

Ignoring what Denki had set your contact name to, you viewed each image, some causing you to actually chuckle. "So, they're like jokes?"

You weren't _completely_ on target, but close enough as the others agreed. "And they can be of anything?" you asked, and Mina nodded, a big spoonful of rice in her mouth as she agreed with you out loud.

Hitting your fist in your hand, you seemed revitalized as you began to eat again, clearly perking up. "I think I get it now! Next up, I need to learn the slang for this country!"

Your words caused your friends to either face palm or groan in exasperation at your cluelessness. While blending in clearly wasn't your forte, at the very least it made for some interesting stories! Besides, you were probably with the best group of people to help you out on all things involving internet culture, so at the very least, you would become knowledgeable.

You just had a _long_ way to go.

* * *

_[5] Geeking Out_

Running into the classroom at top speed — having gotten out of your tutoring session with Nejire early this morning — you bolted right up to Denki, interrupting his conversation with Hanta and somebody else whose name you couldn't remember as you leaned on his desk. Immediately, all three of them ceased talking.

"[Y-Y/n]...?"

The poor male looked a bit nervous, but you brushed that aside, your mind on _much_ more important things. "Did you see last night's episode of _Yu Yu Hakusho_?!"

Immediately, Denki shot up, slamming his hands on his desk in outrage. "Yes! That's what Sato and Sero and I were just talking about!"

Assuming the male with big lips was 'Sato', you nodded vigorously, matching his outrage. Hanta and Sato both looked more than amused than anything else, but jumped in on the conversation nonetheless.

"You watch anime?" Hanta asked, and you nodded once again.

"Yes! I just found out about it a couple of weeks ago, and Denki got me into _Yu Yu Hakusho_! I think my favorite is definitely [favorite] though, it's so cool!"

Shaking your head, you realized quickly that you were getting off topic. You were here to discuss the newest _Yu Yu Hakusho_ episode, not gush about your favorite anime!

"No, wait, I'm here to talk about last night's episode! I can't believe Yusuke freaking lost! He _lost_!"

Your ranting grabbed the attention of one other classmate — Midoriya Izuku. Looking up from his notebook, he slowly raised a hand, trying to gather your guys' attention. "U-um, isn't _Yu Yu Hakusho_ already finished?"

Hanta shook his head. "Technically, but they're remaking the anime since it's been so long. The remake is currently in the Dark Tournament arc."

Izuku slowly nodded, before going back to his notes. As much as he wanted to join you all in your geekfest, he had some studying to do before today's math quiz.

Your group of four, though, clearly ranked anime above school as you all discussed the battles and who you all thought would win the Dark Tournament. You hadn't seen the original, but your bets were on Hiei and you voiced as much as Hanta rolled his eyes playfully. "Of course _you'd_ like Hiei."

You stuck your tongue out at him. "He's so cool! He'll definitely win, you'll see!"

Denki agreed with you on this one.

Before you all could rant anymore, Katsuki grew annoyed at your incessant jabbering, slamming his hand down on his own desk. "Will you fucking nerds be _quiet_ and do something useful instead of talking about some shitty anime?!"

You huffed through your nose, shooting a glare at him before turning to the others. "We can talk more about this at lunch!"

"Yeah!" Your friends agreed, and you went to your desk. Sure, it may be nerdy, but it was fun to watch and gave you common ground with your friends! Besides — for some odd reason, _Yu Yu Hakusho_ reminded you of home.


	18. Bright and Cheerful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You unintentionally eavesdrop on a very serious conversation.

As Present Mic announced that a lunch break would commence before you all would move on to the afternoon festivities, you bounced up and down excitedly. This was the most non-threatening excitement you have had in ages, not to mention you were doing pretty well! Second and third place in the first two events. It wasn't _first_ , but you could rectify it when it came to the versus battles. After all, you had your special ability you still haven't showcased, and you were dying to show it off! You'd just have to wait until the very end — you had learned the hard way that it can have pretty severe repercussions on your body if you did it wrong.

Stomach growling, you quickly excused yourself from your conversation with Tsuyu and Mina so you could run to the bathroom before meeting them all in the cafeteria. Hopefully they had your favorite dish today, because that was the only way this day could get better!

Doing what you needed to do and washing your hands, you left the bathroom, leisurely strolling down the darkened hallways and not sensing the tension up ahead that you were about to walk into — the tension you _would_ have walked into if a hand didn't shoot out and grab a hold of you, one hand wrapping around your waist and the other clamping over your mouth.

"Mmf—?!"

"Fucking be quiet!"

At the familiar voice quiet hissing in your ear, you swung your elbow back, getting Katsuki right in the gut as he let out an almost inaudible ' _oof_ '. He quickly shushed you (as if you were the one making the noise here!) before saying, "Just fucking wait a minute, damned newbie. I want to hear what they're fucking saying." After that, you realized there was an important conversation going on ahead and immediately stopped struggling, not even bothering to remove Katsuki's hand from your waist. Instead, you cocked your head to the side, using _gyo_ to enhance your hearing.

"You've heard of quirk marriages, right?"

You must have missed the first part of this conversation, but there was no doubt about it that that was Shouto's voice, and you glanced up at Katsuki with a questioning gaze before turning back into the conversation. You felt nosy and a bit guilty for eavesdropping, but curiosity won out over those feelings. You just had to wonder, who was Shouto talking to? You had a rather good feeling that you knew who it was, and if it was who you think it was, then you felt bad for the poor teen. First you dumped your secret onto him, and now Shouto is dumping _his_ secrets, as well? Izuku was apparently the most trustworthy person in Class 1-A.

Listening to Shouto explain quirk marriages, you couldn't help but be confused. Why did any of this matter? It's not like he was planning on marrying Izuku to use his quirk, so why did it matter? You soon got your answer.

_Shouto is the result of a quirk marriage...? Why would such things exist in this world?_

It was just one surprise after another, each one worse than the last, because Shouto was nowhere done giving Izuku (if it _was_ Izuku, since you hadn't confirmed it) his tragic backstory.

"In my memories, my mother is always crying," he said darkly. "'Your left side is unsightly', my mother said as she poured boiling water on me." You had to stifle a gasp, both of your hands flying up to your mouth in an attempt to stay quiet. You tensed, afraid he had heard, but he continued to talk, and suddenly guilt washed over you in big waves. This was way too personal to listen to, even if it was to sate your own curiosity.

You didn't realize that the thought of his mother scarring him (literally) had affected you so bad until you felt water on the corners of your lips, salt exploding across your tongue. Slowly, you raised a hand to feel your face. Upon confirming they were tears, you hastily wiped them away, not wanting Katsuki to notice or, even worse, for it to become a noisy cry. Whether he noticed it or not, Katsuki's grip on you tightened lightly.

Footsteps made you tense up before you realized they were going away from yours and Katsuki's position, and you sighed lightly as you realized that Shouto was walking away as his voice slowly grew fainter as he spoke.

Hearing the other person finally speak up as he went to chase them, you relaxed as you realized it was indeed Izuku. If anybody could convince Shouto that he should use his left side to spite his father, it'd be Izuku, although in a much nicer way. Glancing back up at Katsuki, you hovered for a bit, unsure what to do.

". . . That was intense."

Katsuki glared at you for breaking the silence but surprised you with saying nothing as he let go and practically shoved past you, going to leave the vicinity himself. You knew him well enough to easily tell that he was brooding, and you took a step forward, grabbing his wrist. He stopped, but didn't look back or say anything, clearly waiting for you.

"If you're upset that Shouto is more concerned about Izuku than you—"

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to start off with as he ripped his hand from yours, looking back with a piercing glare. "Just mind your own fucking business, Freecss."

The lack of his usual insulting nickname shocked you, and you just nodded mutely, watching as he turned and walked off. There was nothing you could say that would reach him, not now, and you were frustrated at him brushing you off. You understood, though. You couldn't help with everything and knew that whatever Katsuki had against Izuku was between them. It wasn't any of your business in getting in between that.

Stomach rumbling loudly, you let out a long and exasperated sigh before leaving the area yourself and heading towards the cafeteria. That was a pretty heavy conversation that you weren't even supposed to hear, so some food would do well in sidetracking you for the time being. You were conflicted, though.

Throughout your (short) time in this world and at U.A., Shouto had been nothing but cold towards you and your classmates. It was obvious he had a completely different mentality than your peers, and you had figured he was just stuck-up like that. You didn't hate him but would have preferred anybody else's company over his. After hearing of his past, though, it gave you insight as to why he is the way he is. It hurt you, and you couldn't help but frown in thought that Shouto was hurting.

You wanted to help him.

Walking into the cafeteria, you paid no heed to those around you as you rocketed straight towards the lunch line to grab a bunch of food. All that exercising and using up your _nen_ made you famished, and you were ready to dig in once you found a place to sit.

After wondering around for a bit, weaving through all of the first years, you found a group of people you recognized, immediately sitting down by the girls of 1-A. Well, most of them.

"Oh, [Y/n]! Where were you?"

Turning to your invisible friend as you started to inhale your food, you held up a finger to tell her to give you a moment so you could at least chew and swallow your food. No way were you going to tell them about the confrontation you and Katsuki had witnessed. You shouldn't have even been there to listen in, so it was definitely not your place to share what you learned. Instead, once your mouth was clear of food, you said, "Bathroom! I got lost."

It was a good enough explanation as everybody started to talk again, with Tsuyu and Toru continuously congratulating you, Momo, and Ochaco for making it to the next round of the stage. You offered a grin, but no other response as you continued to eat.

"A majority of the students who passed are from Class 1-A, making it very likely that we will fight against one another," Momo pointed out, and you nodded happily, seemingly unbothered. Ochaco looked a bit more worried about that predicament, but not you — you were excited for a chance to fight your classmates. Especially Shouto — you were going to return that declaration of war with a ferocity that will make him eat his words!

Finishing your lunch in record time, you stretched your arms above your head, giving your shoulders a much needed 'pop'. Kyoka gave you a strange look.

"Did you seriously finish already. . . ?"

You didn't answer her question, instead looking over at your friends happily. "We should all probably head to the field soon. That way we're ready!"

Most of the girls decided to stick around a bit longer, but Kyoka and Momo joined you in leaving. Getting up, you all had started to head out, exiting the cafeteria until two people approached your little group — Denki and Minoru. They looked almost worried, and you tensed, wondering if somebody was bullying them or if they had flirted with the wrong person and were now running away. Either way, you'd fight for your classmates!

"Yaoyorozu, Jirou, [Y/n]," Denki called out, as they were the ones heading your little group. You three looked over in confusion.

"Did you two need something?" Ever polite, Momo assessed the two, and the next one to speak up was Minoru.

"Well, I'm sure you already know since you're a class rep and all, but they said everyone has to wear those clothes to do a cheer battle in the afternoon." Pointing over to a group of cheerleaders, you perked up. A cheer battle?! Granted, those skirts didn't look too fun to fight in, but you were always up for a good fight! Plus, despite the practicality of the outfits, they _were_ cute — you just wished the colors were maybe a bit different.

Kyoka looked dismayed and flustered, but everybody else just looked confused. Tilting her head to the side, Momo hummed. "I don't believe I heard anything about an event like that, though..." You nodded in agreement. Of course, you didn't pay attention to half of the stuff that was relayed to you in school, so maybe you had missed the announcement...

Turning away from you all, Minoru continued to speak. "You don't have to believe me, but we heard it straight from Aizawa-sensei!"

That seemed even weirder. Aizawa wasn't really the type to give two shits about this kind of stuff, but if he said it... Minoru continued to speak, being as considerate as ever. "I thought maybe you'd forgotten, so I wanted to tell you just in case."

The entire time, Denki was nodding, and you shrugged and looked over at Momo. "You could probably make the outfits with your quirk, right?" you asked, and Momo agreed before thanking Denki and Minoru. The three of you left to go find the rest of the girls, and you and Kyoka exchanged a look behind Momo's back as she explained the situation and started to create the outfits.

"You know, this may be a set-up," you pointed out. Even if it was, you didn't really have any shame, but Kyoka certainly did and looked embarrassed at the thought of wearing a cheer uniform.

Taking the outfit dejectedly, she shot a glare into the general direction of where Denki and Minoru had disappeared in. "If it is, I'll kill both of them."

Taking your outfit from Momo and thanking her, you gave another shrug to Kyoka. "I'm sure everything will be fine!"

Running to the bathroom _again_ , you quickly got changed, taking a moment to admire yourself in the mirror. The uniform fit you perfectly and was super cute — Momo even made you little pom-poms! You were thankful that it was a skirt with shorts, at least — you did _not_ need to accidentally flash anybody.

Once all the girls had gotten dressed, you all headed out to the field. Some, like Kyoka and Ochaco, were a bit more embarrassed about wearing something so revealing, but you, Mina, and Toru in particular were happily jumping around in excitement. You weren't sure what a cheer battle entailed, but anything with the word 'battle' in it was an automatic plus for you! You would represent Class 1-A with pride and kick everybody's butts!

Just as Present Mic started to announce the afternoon festivities, your group had made it to the field. At first, you were bouncing up and down on your heels, looking around for the other classes, but your group was quick to realize that they were the only class out on the field in these uniforms.

 _So it_ was _a set-up_...

You weren't sure why Denki and Minoru had pranked you all like this, but you could quickly see the other girl's faces pale from shock as Momo slumped to the ground.

"Why am I always caught up in Mineta's schemes...?"

Going over to her, you crouched down and hugged her for a moment. "It's alright, Momo, we all look super cute at least, so let's make the best of it!"

Kyoka, on the other hand, was definitely more angry than dejected as she threw her pom-poms on the ground. "Those stupid boys!"

Toru joined you in trying to mediate. "Well, there's still time before the finals," she pointed out, waving the pom-poms around and making it look like they were floating in midair, "and it'd be a pain if things got tense, so let's do it!"

You appreciated the enthusiasm and pulled Momo to her feet, grasping her hands and leaning forward so your faces were close. "I agree, let's do our best. Okay, Momo?"

Your black-haired friend flushed a light pink, nodding once as you two pulled away. Tsuyu was looking over, amused. "Toru, [Y/n], you two are really into this, huh?" Instead of giving a verbal response, you and Toru just jumped up and cheered, waving the pom-poms around. There'd be no battle now, but at least you all could wave the pom-poms around and look cute, right?

Present Mic was amused at the cheerleading fiasco, but continued to speak over the microphone. "Alright everyone, let's have fun competing in the recreational games! When that's over, the sixteen from the four teams that made it to the final round will duke it out tournament style, one-on-one!"

"YES!"

You startled your friends with your very ecstatic shout as you jumped up excitedly. You were going to prove you were the best!

Midnight stepped up onto the stage, holding a gigantic box in her hands as she held it up for everybody to see for a moment. "Now, let's draw lots to determine the bracket. Once the bracket is determined, we'll have the recreational games and then start!"

You crossed your fingers, waiting with bated breath as Midnight stepped forward. "Now... from the first-place team—"

She was interrupted by one of your teammates from the last battle, Mashirao, as he raised his hand. "Excuse me," he said, and you glanced over in confusion. "I'm withdrawing."

Immediately you all scrutinized him, but it was Izuku who spoke up, concerned for your classmate. "Ojirou, why?" Tenya immediately backed Izuku up, neither getting why he was withdrawing — granted, you didn't, either!

"I barely remember anything from the cavalry battle until almost the end." His words were somber, and you frowned, not quite understanding. He was right beside you during the whole thing, protecting you guys from frontal attacks and carrying Hitoshi. How did he not remember that?

"I think it was that guy's quirk."

_"Hitoshi, what was your quirk again?"_

_"Mind control."_

You blanched at the memory. You hadn't thought anything of it, but Mashirao's behavior _had_ seemed strange. You were too caught up in the moment to understand the implications, though, and immediately felt bad. Why would Hitoshi use his quirk on Mashirao and not you or Yuuga? Why use it on his teammate at all?!

You glanced back at Hitoshi and made eye contact, but as soon as your eyes met he looked away, seemingly uninterested. You had no clue how his quirk activates, but you'd have to be careful. You weren't sure if that was something you could fight against with your _nen_ , after all, and you were definitely not excited to try it out.

After Mashirao was done with his little speech, Midnight accepted the withdrawal with a gleam on her eyes. "I'll have to move up one person from the fifth-place cavalry battle team..."

In the end, the one who wound up moving up was a man named Tetsutetsu, the exuberant one from Class 1-B that had attacked you last round. A weird name, but you weren't one to talk — besides, he reminded you a lot of Eijirou, and you loved Eijirou, so it was safe to assume Tetsutetsu was a great guy!

Waiting for Midnight to finish drawing lots, you ambled over to Mashirao, frowning a bit. "I'm sorry I didn't notice you were under the influence of Hitoshi's quirk, or I would have done something..." you apologized, bowing slightly, and your classmate looked a bit flustered at your sudden appearance. It probably didn't help that you were still in the cheer uniform.

Scratching the back of his head, he nodded once. "I don't blame you, Freecss," he started, with a quick interjection from you for him to call you by your first name before he continued, "[Y/n], then. Just be careful of him. I think his quirk has something to do with his voice — the moment I answered his question was when I blanked out." You two weren't given any more time to discuss Hitoshi's quirk as Midnight announced that the brackets had been decided.

That was weird, though. You had definitely given Hitoshi ample opportunity to use his quirk on you, so why didn't he?

Looking up as the names on the board were revealed, you found your name quickly, struggling to read the other one.

"Ka... mi... na... ri... Oh, Denki!"

Momo gave you a strange glance. "Did you not know Kaminari's last name, [Y/n]?"

Your response was automatic, and you gave it no thought. "Nah, I'm just not used to reading Japanese yet."

Realization crossed Momo's features. "Ah, that's right — you're from the United States, aren't you? Sometimes I forget, since you speak so fluently."

"Oh, thanks! Yeah, just reading and writing is what I struggle with."

With that said, you wandered off, in search of your first opponent and leaving your mature friend behind in a state of confusion. Finally, you found him standing by Katsuki and Eijirou, and you pointed dramatically at him as he whistled.

"Lookin' nice, [Y/n]! You can fight me in that outfit if you want, but it won't change the fact that I'll beat you."

He was cheeky, but you were determined and not at all shameful of your outfit, unlike Eijirou and Katsuki who both averted their gazes bashfully. "Kaminari Denki, I'm going to annihilate you!"

"'Annihilate'...?" Eijirou repeated, questioning your choice of words. You didn't elaborate, and instead went back to your normal cheery demeanor.

"Good luck, Denki!"

Skipping away, you had just enough time to hear Denki say, "Man, [Y/n] may be hot, but she's also weird sometimes..."

You didn't stick around to hear Eijirou's or Katsuki's response (if there _was_ any). Instead, you were too engrossed in your mind, coming up with a battle plan.

Most definitely, you were going to take that first-place spot.


	19. Chuunibyou

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Todoroki and Bakugou both get on your case.

"Let's go, U.A., let's go!"

Cheering and waving your pom-poms around, you didn't hesitate to join the other girls in cheerleading. As it turns out, a cheer battle _doesn't_ involve actual fighting. These terms were really misleading, honestly, but you weren't about to complain right now. You were having _much_ too fun prancing around in your outfit, and unlike your more shy friends, you definitely didn't mind the attention. Around you, everybody was participating in the scavenger hunt. You were honestly half-tempted to join in but weren't entirely sure.

"Quick, I need something orange!"

Eijirou had run up to your group, and you were first to comply, giving your friend a grin. 

"Here ya go!" 

Without any further hesitation your hands went to the hem of your shirt, starting to pull it up before Momo, Kyoka, and Eijirou quickly put a stop to that. Momo yanked down your shirt, whacking your hands away, while Kyoka quickly covered so nobody would see your slip up. Meanwhile, Eijirou was waving his hands around in panic, a blush so red it matched his hair present on his face.

Once the three were reassured that your shirt was going to stay on, Momo scolded you. "Have you no shame?!"

". . . Not really, no. Besides, I'm wearing a sports bra underneath this anyways?"

You were clearly stressing Momo out, and she reminded you somewhat of a tired mom. Turning to Eijirou, who was still heavily embarrassed by what he almost saw, you shrugged as if it was just an ordinary thing for you to strip in a stadium of thousands. "I'll just come along with you, then, so you can win!"

That was a much better solution than handing your clothes to your classmate, and after bidding goodbye to your friends you happily followed him to Midnight, who confirmed Eijirou's scavenger hunt item.

"Were you really going to give me your shirt?" Eijirou asked. He was more relaxed now as he laughed, but it was easy to tell that he was still somewhat flustered as you shrugged.

"It's just clothing, right?"

"I... don't really think that's the problem here."

You didn't really see the problem either, but decided to not bother Eijirou about it as Midnight announced the next game. It seemed to be a sort of team race to push giant balls around the stadium. Turning to your friend, you grabbed his hands in excitement, and he matched your enthusiasm. "Let's be a team, [Y/n]!"

You nodded, but before you could verbally agree you felt a hand on your shoulder, causing you to pause.

"Freecss... Can we talk?"

Turning around, you realized the voice was coming from Shouto, and you glanced back at Eijirou, shooting him an apologetic glance. "I'm sorry, but maybe we can play another game together!"

Eijirou took your rejection in stride, shooting you one last thumbs up before joining up with Denki and Hanta to do the race.

Shouto started to walk out of the way and away from the crowds of people. Was he going to tell you the same stuff he told Izuku? You weren't entirely sure you were prepared for him to tell you his entire life story and trauma yet, and already felt awkward that you knew about it all in the first place when you most certainly weren't supposed to. Eventually, you two stood in a little alcove set away from the field and, more importantly, away from students.

Turning to face each other, you waited in anticipation as he just stared at you for a moment, his narrowed eyes unreadable.

"Um..."

Shouto spoke up just as you were going to try and fill in the silence. ". . . What are you wearing?"

You twirled around happily and somewhat obnoxiously. "Aren't I cute?" you asked, picking the edge of your skirt up with your forefinger and thumb, as if you were going to curtsy.

The heterochromatic boy remained silent for a moment, averting his eyes from your form as he spoke up again. ". . . Yeah."

"Wait, did you actually—"

Shouto cut off your surprise as he started to speak up again, giving you no time to mull over the fact that he agreed with you and basically said you were cute. "I wanted to speak to you about what happened at the USJ," he told you carefully, and his eyes met yours again with a ferocity that made your mind stumble. Didn't Detective Tsukauchi say nobody would bother you about this?! First Izuku, and now Shouto — if this kept up, you were _not_ going to be able to handle this!

You were hesitant but nodded. "Okay..."

He continued at your reluctant agreement. "When those villains appeared, they seemed interested in you, and then that one had claimed you were from another world and attempted to capture you... You didn't even seem shocked and played into his delusions." You didn't like where this was going, and you tensed. 

Internally freaking out, you kept a straight face as Shouto continued, his eyes watchful and his tone thoughtful. You'd have to back up Detective Tsukauchi's claims on the villains just trying to cause chaos and that you had no clue what they were on about.

"... Are you a chuunibyou?"

. . .

"Uh, what?"

Your brain stopped for a moment as you tried to compute the term he just used. _Did this kid just basically ask if_ I'm _delusional...?_

Shouto rolled his eyes. "You always act like you're above everybody and hiding some great secret, and when you were confronted by that villain you played along. Also, you say weird stuff all of the time."

You were still reeling from being asked if you had middle-school syndrome, but then realized this was a great opportunity for you! It would be much easier to agree with him, right?

Slowly you nodded, before forcing out an embarrassed laugh. "You, uh, you caught me! I act extra to get attention and make friends," you lied, feeling a bit embarrassed that you were basically calling yourself crazy.

Oh well. Gotta do what you gotta do.

Shaking his head, Shouto stared you down, and you could feel yourself start to sweat. What, was he now going to doubt you?! Getting nervous, you frantically continued to basically insult yourself. "I know other worlds don't really, um, exist, but I thought humoring the villain would distract him! So, um, can you not tell anybody else about this?"

You were really stretching it thin, but finally Shouto relented, giving you a short nod. "Whatever. It's not my business anyways, I just wanted to confirm my suspicion." His words were somewhat arrogant, but you were already digging yourself in a hole and didn't want to make it any worse. Besides, he was apparently not done with you yet. "Even if you... are _strange_ , I still stand by my earlier statement. If we face each other, I _will_ win."

Calling you 'strange' was a nice way of putting it, but you didn't comment on his word choice. Instead, you nodded once, your shaky smile morphing into a fired-up grin. "Better watch it, Shouto, because I won't accept anything less than first place!"

He nodded once, and you thought for a moment you saw his lips quirk upwards before he turned away. Without another word he walked off, and it was only when he was far enough away that you allowed yourself to relax, your grin fading into a conflicted expression. "Man, that was _way_ too close..." You murmured, raking a hand through your hair. Shouto was pretty observant and was on the right track at first, but you were thankful that his conclusion was far away from the truth.

"I'm calling bullshit."

Yelping, you whirled around at the new voice to see Katsuki standing there, looking irritated as always. "Were you eavesdropping again?!"

He didn't answer you as he stalked closer, hands shoved into his uniform pockets. "I'm calling bullshit," he repeated. "There's no way all that fucking shit happened only for you to be a chuunibyou. I'm going to fucking find out the truth." Your mouth gaped in shock. Out of all the people to be on your ass about this, you did _not_ want it to be Katsuki! You gave him points for persistence, but you knew your classmate well enough by now to know that he was _never_ going to relent until he figured it out. Telling him was also out of the question; you weren't sure if you really trusted him enough to tell him your secret. Or if he'd even believe you.

Following in Shouto's path, Katsuki pushed past you his shoulder bumping into you. You just stood there, taken aback by what just happened before he stopped, not bothering to look behind as he addressed you again. "And change out of that fucking uniform. You look like a clown."

With that, he stalked off, and you shook your head, trying to gather your bearings at that abrupt conversation.

"...I look fucking cute as hell."

Huffing, you went back to the field, brain swimming. So much had just happened to you in the span of ten minutes that you weren't entirely sure where to begin with your thoughts. You knew Katsuki was definitely going to be a problem if it wasn't addressed, whether you told him the truth or made up a more plausible lie than just being delusional. You figured you could talk to Izuku or Aizawa about it. Now that you thought about it, you should probably tell Aizawa that Izuku knows about you, as well...

At the very least you could rely on Shouto not being a problem anymore. With him thinking you were just a crazy person, he probably wouldn't bother you anymore on what you were talking about back when the League of Villains first appeared. It was a small blessing, but with all of your problems you were thankful that the Todoroki wasn't going to be one more tacked on to your ever-growing list.

When did your life become so messed up and crazy?

You were too bothered to continue in on the festivities. Just as they were starting some weird variation of what looked to be the egg toss with various hoops, you went inside to one of the sitting rooms, wanting to take a moment to yourself. In there sat Izuku and Mashirao, and you gave them both a tight smile.

Izuku looked to be inwardly panicking, and you hummed. "You ready for your fight?"

Izuku and Mashirao exchanged a glance before the curly-haired teen nodded hesitantly. "Y-yeah... [Y/n], you were also on Shinsou's team, right? Did he use his quirk on you?"

You shook your head, and then after some thought, said, "I think Mashirao was the only one affected. Yuuga seemed absolutely normal, and I had control of myself the entire time." Poor Mashirao. He was the only one who got played like a fiddle.

He seemed to come to the same realization you did as his face became even more grim.

Sighing that you weren't going to be much help, Izuku slumped and you patted his arm sympathetically. "Don't worry, Izu. Just don't talk at ALL and you'll beat him in a heartbeat! He's my friend too, but in the end it's you that I'm cheering for!" You pumped your fist in the air in an attempt to motivate him, and besides the light blush that covered his cheeks at your nickname, it seemed to work. It was only a little bit, but he nodded shakily once, giving you a wobbly grin.

"Y-yeah! Thank you, [Y/n]!"

You gave him a thumbs up. "No problem!" Sitting down at the same table as the two, you leaned forward, resting your head on your hands as you faced Mashirao. "Again, I'm really sorry about Hitoshi... He told me what his quirk was, but I didn't think he was using it on you..." You guiltily trailed off, eyes downcast as Mashirao put his hands up, shaking his head to tell you that your apology was appreciated but not needed. Izuku, though, seemed contemplative.

"Do you know Shinsou, [Y/n]?"

Your head bobbed up and down. "Yep! We ran into each other a couple weeks back in the hallway," you explained, opting to _not_ tell them that you basically barreled into the poor guy and nearly took him out. Technically you were still telling them the truth, right?

Present Mic started to speak up again, the three of you wincing at how loud his voice was over the intercom in the room. The first match was, obviously, between Izuku and Hitoshi, and you patted the former's head twice as if he were a little kid. "You've got this, Izuku! After all, you hold a lot of potential."

He was too nervous to really respond, but thanked you regardless before you and Mashirao left the room, heading up to the little stands that the festival participants were supposed to be in. One of the teachers had made a makeshift rectangular arena for people to fight on out of cement, and you admired it as you sat next to Eijirou near the front, with Momo behind you.

"Um, [Y/n], you're still in that cheer uniform?"

You gave Eijirou a thumbs up. "It's really cute and comfy!"

Behind you, Momo sighed, looking a bit exasperated with your childish antics. "You know you're going to have to change, right? They won't let you fight in anything other than your gym uniform."

"Awww, dang it!"

You quickly got up and left the stands, not wanting to miss out for the beginning of Izuku's fight, and changed into your gym uniform in a record amount of time, quickly sprinting back up. You didn't want to use your _nen_ , needing to conserve it for your battles, and made it just as the two approached the little arena, facing off.

_Midoriya Izuku vs. Shinsou Hitoshi..._

Waiting in anticipation, the only thing you could do was watch from the stands as the first battle in the last stage officially began.


	20. Special — Introspection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night before the sports festival, you reminisce the times you had spent with Gon, homesick.

For as long as you could remember, you were an orphan. Born in a town far away, your parents had allegedly come to Whale Island to drop you off and abandon you, not wanting to deal with the burdens of a child. You were just an infant, you couldn't remember a single thing about your parents.

But you remembered Aunt Mito, you remembered Grandma, and you remembered Gon, ever since you _could_ remember. From what Mito had told you, she had found you abandoned on the road early in the morning one day and took you home. Two years later, and Gon had also appeared, your new baby "brother". Sure, you weren't related by blood, but those three were the closest to family you ever had. You grew up alongside Gon, and while other kids would sometimes tease the both of you for not having "real" parents, you were never bothered.

Aunt Mito, Grandma, Gon — they were all you needed.

Growing up as a child on a remote island surrounded by vast sea had an impact on your life and skills. You and Gon were the "wild childs" of the island, always getting into some kind of trouble without meaning to. You both did good recklessly, without any thoughts for yourselves, and quickly learned the ways of the island, how to survive in the deep forest. You became adept at distinguishing plants from each other, learning about wild animal calls and tracks and nature's own warning signs. Your intuition was honed in, as was your strength and constitution from such a harsh and volatile life. Sure, you always had home to go back to, but each day was a new adventure of exploring the jungle and learning new things.

Then came Kite. He was a peculiar man. You and Gon had been playing around as usual and had accidentally wandered into the territory of a mother foxbear and her cub. If it weren't for Kite saving you both and killing the mother, you and Gon would have surely died, or at least been seriously wounded. After getting a proper scolding from Kite as he had killed a living being to save your dumb asses, you and Gon had sworn up and down that you would raise the cub. It was then Kite recognized the two of you — well, Gon, not you — and explained that his dad _wasn't_ dead, but was a hunter.

From then on, Gon was obsessed with becoming a hunter. You didn't share the same view as him — in your opinion, Ging was a terrible father. What kind of parent abandons their kid?! For certain, if your positions were swapped, you'd have no interest in finding your parents unless it was to ask them what the fuck they were thinking when they abandoned you.

Not Gon, though. Ever the ray of sunshine, he was determined to become a hunter to be just _like_ his dad, whatever _that_ meant. Hopefully he wouldn't have a child just to abandon it either.

Having spent your entire life by Gon, you couldn't imagine spending time without him. While it wasn't your life goal to become a hunter like Gon, you had immediately promised Aunt Mito to stick by Gon's side to protect him no matter what. Besides... Well, you _were_ curious to see the outside world and embark on new adventures!

The trials for the Hunter Exam were rough, but in the end worth it. You had made a couple new friends, and had gotten even stronger than anticipated. Sure, there were hiccups along the way, but you never had realized just how big and beautiful the world actually was until you had the chance to travel it, not to mention you were getting a real knack for fighting!

Eventually, though, you separated from Gon. Bidding him farewell and good luck as he embarked to the infamous Heavens' Arena, you went back home to Aunt Mito to fill her in, and then went to go find your own mentor in the desert (and, honestly, you'd rather _not_ remember that scraggly, fashion-catastrophe of a man. I mean, seriously, _sparkly, pink, zebra print suits_ in the middle of the fucking _desert_?!).

In the end, though no matter what you went off to do, you always found your way back to Gon. Perhaps you were a bit over-protective of him, but you couldn't help but want to fill in that big sister role, to be the person he always looked up to.

Just how was he faring now with you gone and no clue on when he would ever see you again?

. . .

Sighing, you leaned back in your chair, eyes thoughtful. In what should have been an intense "coming up with special moves" session for the sport's festival turned out to be a trip down memory lane, reminiscing your past. It was strange. You felt like you had changed so much, maybe _too_ much, but still felt the same. You felt _stunted_ , as if all of your potential had dried up. It was a stupid thought, you weren't even an adult yet, how could you lose your potential? Nonetheless, though, the thought gnawed at the back of your mind, burrowing deep and causing anxiety to bloom in your brain.

Huffing, you slapped your cheeks lightly, trying to bring yourself back to the present as you looked down at your notebook filled with scribbles, half written in Japanese and the other written in your native language, creating some weird, monstrous amalgamation that nobody but you could probably understand. Oh well. It wasn't like you were planning on sharing your notes to begin with.

Crossing out some unintelligible words, you scrutinized the little graph you drew that was tracking your progress each and every day. Despite having been resting for the past couple hours, being homesick and trying to come up with a better plan, you were still gross and sweaty from training so hard earlier today. You honestly think you perfected your best move, although it seemed to almost drain you completely of energy once it wore off. Despite holding it up for a few minutes, your limbs violently protested every time you moved, soreness permeating throughout you. It may have a short timer, but you could work on that. What counted was that it was your trump card, like that red mushroom in that one video game you like to play.

Stretching your arms above you and popping your shoulders, you glanced at the clock on the wall. Immediately, you winced. When did it become so late?

It was time for bed. With the sport's festival being tomorrow, you needed all the sleep you could get — after all, you were aiming for nothing less than first place, and you'd need to be in top shape to attempt that, especially with competitors like Katsuki and Shouto.

Taking a quick shower and changing into pajamas, you towel dried your hair carefully before glancing out the window, sighing wistfully at the twinkling lights that decorated your view. The city, despite it being nighttime, was as lively as ever, causing another pang of homesickness to resonate through you. If you just focused on the city lights, and the stars in the sky, you could almost pretend that you were back in York New City, sharing your hotel room with your old family. Especially Gon. Was he worried? Was he searching for you?

_Gon... Please be with me and give me strength tomorrow... I miss you._


	21. Budding Suspicions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get to witness the first fight between Midoriya and Shinsou! Afterwards, though, Shinsou has something to discuss with you.

Leaning over the side rail, you weren't surprised to see that Hitoshi was talking. If his quirk was really voice activated, it made sense that he would say stuff to goad Izuku into talking. Both you and Mashirao had warned him though. There was no _way_ that Izuku would be a fool enough to —

"What did you say?!"

Aaaaand you stand corrected.

Burying your face into your hands, you let out a long groan. It was game over — under Hitoshi's mind control quirk, he could literally make Izuku just say "I give up!" and it'd be the end of it. And after Mashirao and you had warned him! Behind you, you could hear Mashirao also note that, his voice dejected.

Hitoshi apparently wasn't going to make it quick, though. His voice echoed in the stadium, telling Izuku to walk out of bounds, and immediately Izuku complied, turning around and slowly making his way to the edge. Was this really how it was going to end? With Izuku forfeiting himself against his own will?! You clenched your fists, leaning over the side of the rail. You barely noted the hand that had reached out and grabbed the back of your jacket to keep you from falling over as you were intently focused on the battle. And despite the lack of fighting, it _was_ still a battle — this one, though, was mental. You'd just have to trust Izuku to pull through.

Around you, your classmates began to freak out, yelling at Izuku to snap out of it. Nothing worked, though, as he continued to trudge forward sluggishly. You leaned forward more, and the hand on your jacket yanked you back, causing you to stumble and look over your shoulder. Naturally, it was Eijirou, and he shook his head at you as he let go of you.

"You're going to fall if you lean like that, [Y/n]."

You nodded once, turning your attention back to the fight and being more mindful of the railing you were on. Izuku was nearing the edge, and you started to grow frustrated.

 _Come on.... come on!_

You couldn't handle this anymore! Cupping your hands around your mouth, you leaned forward (with poor Eijirou grabbing the back of your jacket again). "COME ON, IZUKU! GET IT TOGETHER!"

Whether it was your own voice or Izuku's strong will, _something_ did the trick. Just as his foot was about to cross the painted line, wind gusted around him. It didn't take a genius to know that Izuku had done something, and you took a moment to realize _damn, this is the first time I've actually seen Izuku use his quirk!_ Feeling your hair whip back, you shielded your face for a moment before peering down. Izuku was making haste, not a single word leaving his mouth as Hitoshi began to yell at him.

You felt bad. Hitoshi truly just wanted to become a hero, but Izuku was also trying to reach his own goals, and neither were going to relent. As Izuku reached Hitoshi, he immediately began to push, shoving the lilac-haired boy closer and closer to the edge as Hitoshi desperately tried to stay in. Finally, realizing that Izuku wasn't going to speak, he punched him square in the face.

This didn't stop Izuku, though. You couldn't see your friend's face, but you could imagine the sheer determination that was probably placed on it as he continued to push. The two grappled momentarily, and you gasped as the tables were turned with Izuku being shoved towards the line.

_No... Izuku!_

Thankfully, Izuku was a quick thinker. In an instant he had grabbed Hitoshi's arm, pulling him over and slamming him on the ground — and right over the line.

"Shinsou Hitoshi is out of bounds! Midoriya Izuku advances to round two!"

It was a sort of anti-climactic — and _very_ short — fight, but nonetheless the audience cheered at Midnight's declaration.

Your peers gave a collective sigh of relief as they joined in with the celebrating, and you leaned back into your seat, a hand fluttering up to your chest. You hadn't realized, but watching Izuku slowly walk to the edge of the arena had been intense, and you had to take a few deep breaths to calm your thumping heart. In the end, Izuku won, and that was what counted, right?

_But Hitoshi..._

Standing up, you asked Eijirou to save your seat before you left the stands area, deciding to go down and meet Hitoshi. He was your friend too, but in the end, you cheered for Izuku only. Did that make you a bad friend? Probably, so it would be best to apologize!

By the time you had made it down to the arena, it seemed like Izuku and Hitoshi had finished talking, and you stood by in the little tunnel leading to the field, waving to both of them to try and grab their attention. It didn't work. Realizing that they both probably couldn't even see you from the awkward angling of the arena, you sat down with your back against the wall, waiting for them to walk through.

Hitoshi came through first, fortunately, and didn't notice you until you jumped off the ground, effectively startling him.

"Oh, it's you."

You gave him an apologetic grin. "You were so close to winning! I really thought you were going to succeed for a moment," you told him, and he returned your bright gaze with an unimpressed one, his eyes hooded slightly. Taking a step towards you, he scoffed.

"Yet you cheered for Izuku."

Your grin somewhat dampened, and you sighed, wringing your hands slightly. "You're both my friends," you explained, "but... I've trusted Izuku with an important secret, and to repay him, I'm going to support him no matter the cost." You met his gaze evenly, your face becoming more serious. "But you're my friend no matter what, and I'm supporting you too! You did really good, and I know you'll make it into the hero course!"

Your enthusiasm wasn't contagious this time. Hitoshi still looked stone-faced as he took another step closer, but you stood your ground, refusing to back up. Eventually, you two were only inches apart.

"[Y/n], what is your quirk?"

The random question caught you off guard. "Ah... It's Boost. Basically, I just boost my regeneration, strength, speed, etcetera." Your tone was somewhat confused, but you complied nonetheless and told him. He only hummed in response, and you stared back in his eyes waiting for an explanation.

Up this close, you never realized how pretty of a purple his eyes were, reminding you of the soothing lavender that used to grow outside of Aunt Mito's house growing up...

Hitoshi finally spoke again, snapping you back to reality. "As I thought. My quirk doesn't work on you."

You were startled as he leaned forward, and you could feel his breath on your lips and over your face. Your mind was blank, but not in a way that made you feel like his quirk was activating on you. You were just shocked at both the closeness and the fact that apparently he's been trying to use his quirk on you to no avail?

At the close proximity between you two, you flushed a bright red and backed up, your back clumsily hitting the wall behind you. Hitoshi stayed close, hovering over you as he rested his arms on each side of your head, leaning in.

 _Oh my_ god _is he going to kiss me?!_

By all means, you weren't a very shameful or modest person, but this closeness...!

Just centimeters away from your lips touching, Hitoshi spoke up again. His eyes bore into yours, and you suppressed a shudder. It was as if he could see through your very _soul_.

"[Y/n]," he murmured, eyes narrowing in thought, "just what exactly are you hiding?"

Your brain was on overdrive, and you _swore_ you could feel his lips brush against yours as he spoke, your heart picking up a pace so fast you were afraid it would beat right out of your chest.

"I.... I..."

Now you were stammering, your brain unable to compute. [Y/n].exe has crashed!

"Shinsou? [Y/n]?"

Izuku's voice echoed slightly in the tunnel and Hitoshi pulled away, putting his hands in his pockets and shooting you a lazy grin. "I'll figure it out eventually. We'll talk later," he promised, sparing Izuku a glance before he set off, leisurely walking away from the two of you. Now having room to yourself, your legs buckled underneath you as you slid down the wall, your face and body on fire.

_He almost kissed me...!_

Seeing you fall, Izuku quickly ran towards you, crouching down beside you and obviously freaking out as his hands waved around. "[Y-Y/n], are you alright?!"

Mutely, you nodded, your fingertips grazing your lips before you spoke to reassure your friend. "Y-yeah. I'm good." With Izuku's help, you managed to stand back up, your legs still feeling like Jell-O. "Man, that was intense..."

"What happened?" Izuku looked over at you, his voice full of curiosity.

Shaking your head, you responded, "He's on to me. Somehow he managed to realize something is off about me; because of his quirk." You were grumbling. This wasn't even something you could control! Most things were easily brushed off; your familiarity with everybody and using first names because you were dubbed as a foreigner from the United States of America. Same with your lack of proficiency with reading Japanese. Your "worldly" antics have you labeled as just delusional and people rolled with that. You were careful to stay within the parameters of your "quirk" despite your irritation with it, and besides your slip-up at USJ, you hadn't made any other humongous mistakes yet. For Hitoshi to just figure this out from a single _question_ and realizing you were immune to his quirk . . .

Either that teen was scarily intelligent and observant, or you were just a really shitty liar.

Izuku seemed to understand the severity of situation, glancing down the tunnel to where Hitoshi had disappeared as the two of you continued to walk. He didn't reply right away, and you had an idea, turning to Izuku fully.

"He said his quirk didn't work on me," you told him. "And Shigaraki's didn't, either. I wonder..."

"If it's because of your _nen_?" Izuku finished, and you sharply nodded, your face contemplative as you thought about it. You didn't really understand all the technicalities of _nen_ in this world considering it wasn't commonplace and nobody else had _nen_ , but it confused you. Obviously, you weren't immune to all quirks. During the cavalry battle you had firsthand experienced both Denki's _and_ Shouto's quirks, neither of which were fun to endure. You'd think it was just mental quirks, but Shigaraki could literally disintegrate anything he touched, which was most _definitely_ not a mental quirk.

Relaying these thoughts to Izuku, he nodded a bit before starting to mutter incomprehensibly under his breath. You took a step back, raising your hands in a placating motion.

"Um... Izuku?"

He either didn't hear or chose to ignore you. Either way, he was still muttering, and you sighed before lightly whacking him on the back of his head. _This_ worked, and he looked up at you in shock. "[Y-Y/n]"?

You shook your head at his antics. "Come on, we can talk more about this later. The next match is Shouto and Hanta, and I want to get back up there before it starts." Izuku held up his hands, and you winced seeing his two fingers. They were definitely broken, the two fingers extremely swollen and decorated in an amalgamation of purples, reds, and black.

You gingerly took his hand, before taking a deep breath.

"What are you—?"

Without further ado, you channeled your _nen_ into his hand. You weren't a pro at this by any means, but had been practicing back on Greed Island to help Gon and Killua. Slowly, his hand glowed a faint yellow, and he watched in shock as the swelling went down, his fingers reverting back to a normal skin tone. Finally, you let go, the glow dimming down. It was a simple technique that didn't take too much energy, especially since it didn't take long to heal. Proudly, you noticed that you had improved since your time on Greed Island.

Izuku examined his hand for a moment in wonder, before turning to you. "Th-thank you, but... you shouldn't have done that. You need to save your strength." His concern was unneeded, but you were touched nonetheless.

Waving away the concern, you grinned at him. "It didn't even affect me. Besides, I can say the same. If you went to Recovery Girl, it would have drained your stamina, so this way you still have enough energy to fight Shouto. Because, no offense to Hanta, but Shouto is _way_ too powerful. How does it feel?"

The green-haired boy's nod was hesitant before he gave you a small smile, flexing his fingers. "Sore, but not broken anymore." You could see he was somewhat bothered, more likely than not about his upcoming match. You didn't blame him. While excited, you could deny that you would be a bit tense at first when it came to fighting either Shouto or Katsuki.

Grabbing Izuku's hand, you had started to drag him back, but he gently untangled his hand from yours and sent you a soft smile. "I'll meet you up there. I need to do something first." While a bit sad that you two couldn't walk back together, you understood, giving him a small nod.

"I'll meet you up there, then. Just make sure you're back in time for the next match!"

With that said, you went back up to the stands, immediately sitting back down next to Eijirou. You had a couple of battles until your own, and you had a perfect strategy. If you won against Denki, you'd be either going up against Mei or Tenya. You figured you could take out Mei easily, but Tenya might be a bit more difficult. You'd have to watch him carefully when their fight came up, but for now...

"Next up is... these guys!"

Leaning back, you sighed. "As much as I love Hanta... I'm afraid this match-up is totally unfair," you said, earning a shake from Eijirou.

"You gotta believe in your friends, [Y/n]!"

"... I _guess_."

For a moment, though, things were going well. As soon as the match started, Hanta had wrapped Shouto up with his tape, and in an instant was trying to swing Shouto out of bounds. It was the best strategy, honestly. Shouto's offensive and defensive power were both scarily well-developed in a way that made you wonder what kind of training he had been forced through when he was younger, so it was best to quickly move before he could and try to push him out. With a person like Shouto, there was no way that giving up was an option.

And then, of course, Shouto retaliated.

Not even a second later, ice shot up, and if you had leaned back even a second later you would have been hit as well. Covering the stands, you wouldn't be surprised if it had gone over the edge of the stadium.

"Th-that's way t-t-too much!" You tried to say, teeth chattering from the cold. Your red-haired friend nodded vigorously in agreement as it was announced that Shouto would move to the next round, with the audience then shouting "Don't worry about it" over and over again. It was grimly funny, something you weren't sure you were going to let Hanta live down any time soon.

 _If Shouto wins against Izuku and I continue to advance, though_...

For sure, Shouto was going to be an extremely tough opponent. While you hadn't really addressed all the issues with your newer _hatsu_ ability, you had a feeling you were going to be forced to use it if the two of you wound up facing off. _If_. If anybody else could beat Shouto, you had a feeling it would be Izuku. But if Izuku won, then you'd most likely be fighting him, and you didn't want that, either! 

"Agh!"

Startling Eijirou and Momo behind you, you groaned in frustration, putting your face in your hands. Either way, you were going to be in a difficult situation! Why couldn't you just be pit up against Katsuki?! 

Misunderstanding your frustration, Eijirou patted you on the back. "Don't worry, the ice will be gone in no time. You're up next against Kaminari, aren't you?"

Oh yeah. To get to Shouto or Katsuki...

You were going to have to defeat Denki, first.


	22. Foreigner VS. Sparking Killing Boy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To sum up yours and Denki's match: This bitch empty. YEET.

Thankfully, it took some time for the stage to melt and dry, so you had time to prepare yourself. Greeting Hanta as he came back to the stands (he did _not_ appreciate you telling him to jokingly "not worry about it", but you couldn't help it!), you stood up, stretching your arms above you. It would be best to make your way down to the waiting rooms now and devise a game plan.

"Good luck!"

At the friends that wished you luck on your way out, you shot Denki a playfully wink before heading to the waiting rooms. From what you had previously observed, if Denki used too much electricity, it literally fried his brain. Your best bet would be to use your _nen_ to form a protective layer of _ko_ around your body and hope for the best. It probably wouldn't completely block out the electricity, but it would certainly minimize damage done to you. You had already gotten the bad end of Denki's quirk once today — you did _not_ want to feel that again.

You figured you could just get him to fry his own brain, and then yeet him out of the arena. That was a solid plan, right? If your _nen_ didn't protect you, though... You weren't sure what else you could do to protect yourself from his quirk, honestly. Right now, this was the only option you could think of.

It'd have to do.

After what felt like an eternity of waiting, you heard Present Mic's voice over the speaker, indicating that you needed to start walking out into the stadium and onto the stage. You weren't really nervous, but your entire body tingled with anticipation nonetheless. As rude as it was to think about, Denki was nowhere near your biggest worry right now. You were much more concerned with the fights you would face _after_ this match.

_Sorry, Denki!_

"Accepted into U.A.'s hero course late through recommendations, is Class A's Freecss [Y/n]! Coming from the United States, she's certainly making waves with her quirk, _Boost_!"

You appreciated the little introduction Present Mic gave you as you walked up the steps, slowly watching Denki appear from the other side.

"VERSUS Sparking Killing Boy! From the hero course's Class A, it's Kaminari Denki!"

You take it back. Why did Denki get the cool nickname, and you didn't?!

That shouldn't be your biggest worry right now. Meeting you on stage, Denki looked completely relaxed and smug, as if he already had the battle in the bag, and you couldn't help but feel annoyed. You were totally going to wipe that look off his face! Well, more like he was going to wipe the look off his face himself, since your plan here was to make him overuse his quirk.

Let's just hope it works, or else you're going to be in for a very rough time.

Still on a roll, you waited impatiently for the match to start as Present Mic continued to talk. "Now, we'll have a super flashy battle this time too, so give it your all, alright?! Now, START!"

You and Denki faced off for a moment, and he was the first to speak, grinning cockily over at you. "Hey, [Y/n], why don't we go on a date once this is all over?"

His sudden question took you aback, and you thought it over, before nodding once. "I mean, if you're not too upset by losing, a date would be super fun!"

Matching your surprise, he faltered for a moment, clearly not having expected you to agree. "W-wait, you really want to go out on a date?"

"Yes! So let's end this quickly!"

You then, surprising everybody, sat down to wait patiently for Denki to make the first move. Wrapping yourself in _nen_ , you took a deep breath and closed your eyes. Your _ko_ wrapped your entire body — you had seen how Denki fights. He tends to do a giant blast to try and end the fight first thing, not wanting to draw out battles. While his move, granted, was _extremely_ strong (you already had a taste of being electrocuted, after all), he would probably go brain dead after his first attack. While sitting down seemed a bit stupid, your legs were crossed underneath you in a way that if Denki decided to do a frontal attack without his quirk, you could easily jump up and defend, although you weren't really banking on it.

"Freecss is sitting down?! You're supposed to be fighting, not relaxing!"

Ignoring Present Mic's commentary, you smiled cheerily at Denki, who just stared at you, abashed. "Well? Gonna make a move, Denki-chu?"

Denki shook his head, although you could see the light flush of red that dusted his cheeks at your nickname. "You really are casual about this... I'm sorry if this hurts, [Y/n], but I'm not going to lose!" At his words, yellow electricity started to gather around him, nearly blinding you. "Indiscriminate Shock... 1.3 Million Volts!"

_I really hope this works!_

Just as the electricity raced towards you, you grit your teeth and squeezed your eyes shut, tensed for the worst. As you had expected, you hadn't been completely protected; where your legs met the ground was where you had felt the electricity. It wasn't _terrible_ , but it stung, and you couldn't help but hiss. That was the worst, though. Opening your eyes, you saw the last of the yellow electricity dissipate around you, Denki slouched on the opposite side of the arena. Definitely not as painful as that could have been, even though the fight ended much sooner than you would have appreciated.

"What's this?! Freecss remains completely unaffected!"

Waiting until you were in the clear, you dropped your _nen_ and leisurely walked forward and up to Denki.

Putting your hands on Denki's shoulders, you faked a look of seriousness as you looked into his face. God, you wanted to laugh, he looked ridiculous! "I'm sorry, Denki, but we can still have that date!"

"Whee...!"

Without further ado, you picked Denki up and lightly tossed him off the stage, effectively yeeting him out of bounds. As soon as you saw his body in the air, you hummed. _Maybe it would have been better if I just pushed him out of bounds instead of throwing him... he'll be fine._

Deeming it safe to let your _nen_ go, the audience was quiet for a moment as Present Mic spoke up, mirroring your thoughts.

"Kaminari is out of bounds! But... Was throwing him really necessary?"

Despite the question, the audience started to cheer, and you felt your face grow red as you were declared the winner of your round and deemed to go on to the next stage. Having all this attention on you was a bit nerve-wracking now that you were here, not going to lie, but so cool, too! You hoped you looked as cool as you felt on television!

Walking off the stage, you watched in slight amusement as Denki was guided to Recovery Girl's office, scratching the back of your neck in slight embarrassment. Hopefully you didn't hurt him too bad with that throw...!

Making your way back up to the stands, you were met with both the eerie mutterings of Izuku and the congratulating cheers of your classmates. Izuku was much too immersed in his notebook to notice your return, and you laughed lightly as you went to go sit by Eijirou (the poor teen also looking off put from Izuku's behavior).

"Good job, [Y/n]! Did you really have to throw Denki, though?"

You groaned at the question, putting your head in your hands. "I didn't think about it!" you protested weakly, turning red from embarrassment. "It was only after I saw him in the air that I realized I could have just pushed him out of bounds..."

Thankfully, your classmates knew you didn't mean to actually injure Denki as they all laughed and teased you for the poor lack of judgement on your part. 

Tuning out the teasing and back into the next match, your lips pressed together in a thin line. Tenya vs. Mei. You weren't sure who you wanted to fight more, but either way you'd be fighting _one_ of them next, so you had to use this opportunity to analyze both of their fighting styles. You couldn't let yourself be distracted, there was only one way to get to the top and that was by winning against everybody!

Watching as Mei and Tenya's match started, you quickly realized that it wasn't going to be a battle like you were hoping for. You should have expected it, though, coming from Mei. She basically played Tenya like a fiddle, using him to advertise all her cool gadgets to the other support companies that were more likely than not watching the sport's festival play out. Resisting the urge to face palm, you couldn't help the wry smile on your face. Your next opponent was _definitely_ going to be Tenya.

Sure enough, when Mei had her fill of humiliating the poor teen, she willingly forfeited, casually stepping off the stage as if Tenya's pride wasn't on the line.

_Poor Tenya... I'll make sure to give him a good fight when it comes around!_

This put you at a disadvantage, though. You had hoped to see them fight a bit more, so you could figure out Tenya's fighting style, but this didn't change anything! You wouldn't allow yourself to lose to him. Besides, if you can fight and survive people who have come at you with intense killing intent, then you should be able to handle fighting against classmates. Right? Right.

Out of the corner of your eye, while Izuku was too mesmerized into his book, you saw Ochaco get up with her fists clenched as she left the stands. Normally, you would have left it alone, but... She looked extremely pale, and it worried you. Getting up as well, you were quick to follow.

"Ochaco!"

Running to catch up with her in the hallway, you placed a hand on her shoulder, obviously concerned. "Are you okay?"

She turned to meet your face with a clearly forced grin, and you noticed the sweat that beaded on her forehead. Was her upcoming match really that daunting? Who was she supposed to face aga- ah. You remember.

"I'm good!"

She was, most definitely, _not_ good. Sighing, you pulled her into a tight hug in an attempt to comfort her. While clearly surprised, the brunette eventually hugged back, and you could feel her shake slightly. Finally, after a few long minutes, you pulled away from her. "I... don't know if I can offer much advice," you admitted bashfully, "but I'll be cheering for you, alright? You'll do amazing out there as long as you believe in yourself!"

Noticing how her round eyes teared up slightly, she nodded once. "Thank you, [Y/n]! I hope to meet you in the finals!"

This made your smile widen. "Yes! We'll have a face-off like no other! You can do it, Ochaco! But just in case . . . Here's a good luck charm." Leaning forward, you kissed the brunette gently on her forehead, pulling back as your friend immediately blushed.

"S-So bold...! I promise I'll win with your good luck charm, [Y/n]!"

Figuring she probably needed some time to herself, you gave her one last thumbs up before heading back up, making it just in time for Mina's and Yuuga's match. You were obviously going to cheer for Mina, and before you knew it, the next two matches passed by like a blur, with Mina winning her match, and Tokoyami winning against Momo. Then was Eijirou versus that guy from Class B that was _way_ too similar to him (this fight, unsurprisingly, ended in a draw for the time being). This left for the final match of the first round, the one that everybody was most likely going to be tuned in on.

Ochaco and Katsuki.

You were a bit nervous for your friend, honestly. Katsuki, by all means, was _not_ a nice person. While you knew he wouldn't go easy, you wondered just how well Ochaco could go up against him.

_You gotta have faith in your friends, [Y/n]._

Eijirou's earlier words reverberated in your head, and you sighed, realizing he was right. You had to have faith in Ochaco. You had missed the mock battle simulation they all had before you arrived, but from what you had heard, Ochaco and Izuku were on a team against Katsuki and Tenya and they had won! That had to account for something, right? You also had gathered that Ochaco's quirk had something to do with gravity.

_I wonder if she can make Katsuki float up into space lmao._

From the stands, it was easy to tell that Ochaco was nervous. Part of it may have been because she's in front of such a big crowd, but also, Katsuki tended to scare the fuck out of most of your classmates. While you were usually unaffected by his brash behavior and explosive personality, your other classmates weren't the same. It seemed everybody wanted to avoid Katsuki if possible, save for you, Izuku, and Shouto. The self-proclaimed "Bakusquad" also tended to hang out around him, but it was easy to tell he still sometimes put them off.

Out of all the fights, Ochaco's and Katsuki's lasted the longest. It was also, without a doubt, the most painful fight to watch. Ochaco most certainly gave her all, but in the end, it was nowhere near enough to compete against Katsuki. Katsuki persevered, although not without hardship — in the middle of the fight, the audience had started to boo him like the idiots they were because they thought he was playing around with her.

 _That's not true, though,_ you realized with a startling clarity, _it’s because he gave his all that he respects her. More than anybody, I understand that._

You doubted Katsuki was one to let the crowd affect him, and sure enough, they continued to fight after Aizawa had reprimanded the pro heroes. While usually battle-hardened, each hit inflicted on Ochaco made you wince. Focused on the two on the ground, though, your gaze never once had lifted to the sky to see Ochaco's master plan until she was already enacting it, chunks of concrete raining down upon Katsuki.

Not once had you expected this to happen and you had leaned forward in anticipation, only for Katsuki to blast the debris away, and for Ochaco to eventually fall to the ground, defeated. Once Katsuki was announced the official winner of the match, you slumped in your seat, groaning.

"And I was really rooting for Ochaco..."

The others around you nodded in agreement, although none were surprised that Katsuki had wound up winning. He did, after all, place first in the entrance exams.

Watching as Ochaco was wheeled away on a stretcher, soon enough Katsuki came back to the stands, with everybody teasing him for not going easy on Ochaco. Tenya and Izuku both had left (probably to go comfort Ochaco), and you just waited by as a break began before the second round of battles began. With Eijirou dubbed the official winner of his rematch with Class B, that made the contestants all from Class A.

It was going to be one _hell_ of a time, and you weren't entirely sure you were ready anymore as you waited in anticipation for the next set of battles to begin.


	23. Realized Capacity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Next up is your fight against Iida. He puts up a tough battle — can you win? And afterwards . . . Will you be facing Izuku, or Shouto?

You weren't _nervous_ per se; well, okay, you _were_ , but not for the reasons your classmates probably thought. Pacing around, you couldn't help but be anxious about your upcoming match. It's not because you were worried about going up against Tenya. Honestly, you felt like you stood a good chance against him.

The _problem_ was what Shouto, Hitoshi, and Katsuki had all brought up earlier. Your background. It was easily brushed off, even if two of them didn't fully believe you, but it didn't change the fact that they _were_ suspicious. Now, you were fighting on national T.V., where the League of Villains and that other _nen_ user could probably see, not to mention Hisoka. Was it really a smart idea for your skills to be broadcast like that when you had an unknown enemy hiding in the shadows?

Of course, it was too late to worry about that now, the damage already partially done. There was no backing out. You swore you would take that number one spot, and you meant it with all your heart. You were just going to have to be cautious — granted, your _hatsu_ wasn't flashy or noticeable by just sight, so at least you had that going for you?

 _I just won't use_ nen _in my next match... I need a better challenge, and if I win, I'll be fighting Shouto. I'll need to conserve my_ nen.

That's right. Shouto. Shouto's and Izuku's fight had been brutal, with Shouto winning in the end and Izuku getting drastically owned. Painfully so. As much as you wanted to heal him, when you had entered Recovery Girl's office with intent to help with Izuku, you were immediately ejected and told to prepare for your own fight while they cleaned up and fixed the stage. You heeded the advice, going straight to the sitting room, where you were pacing by yourself.

Despite what Shouto had said to Izuku, he had wound up using his left side after all. That would prove a problem if you won against Tenya — defending against both fire _and_ ice would be difficult, but you weren't raised to be a quitter. Besides, while difficult, the thought of such a challenge _excited_ you, made your blood boil in anticipation at the possibility of getting to experience both sides. _That_ was why you couldn't waste any aura on Tenya, as bad as that sounded.

Lost in your own musings, you didn't notice that somebody had walked in until they spoke up, nearly startling you.

"What the fuck are you doing, Chuunibyou?"

Unimpressed, you whirled around to meet the perpetually angry, red glare of Katsuki. Granted, he didn't look as angry as he usually did, but it didn't change the fact you had gotten a downgrade from his insult now. What was worse, you had "confirmed" Shouto's suspicion, so it's not like you could tell Katsuki you weren't delusional or else you'd be putting yourself at even more risk. The teen was already suspicious enough as it was!

"I'm thinking, you jerk. What do you want?"

He shoved his hands in his pockets, and you waited impatiently. Any moment, you'd be summoned to go out and start your fight with Tenya, so why was he hesitating?

After a moment, he finally spoke again, his voice nothing more than a grumble. "You won't lose."

Was that, dare you say, a _compliment_? Your hand fluttering to your chest in a sarcastic manner, you gave him the most exaggerated, touched look you could muster on your face. " _Awww_ , Kacchaan—"

"After all, I'm going to be the one to kick your ass, not that stupid glasses guy."

Aaaaand there was the catch.

Rolling your eyes, hearing Present Mic speak up over the PA, you started to walk to the door, pausing once to speak to Katsuki.

"I'm looking forward to it."

You could have sworn you saw him smirk out of the corner of your eye, but you had no time to ponder as you made your way up, your heart an anxious thrum in your chest. You've never had performance/fighting anxiety until now, but perhaps being in front of such a big crowd put a pressure on you like no other. Deep breaths. You just had to act like you normally do, and everything would be fine! After all, you were much more of an experienced fighter than your classmates, something you held on tightly to with an iron grip. After all, right now your experience was what you mostly had going for you! Besides, once again, the damage was already done. You had already been seen on T.V., and you _certainly_ weren't going to quit.

Introductions aside, you and Tenya nodded at each other as you both made your ways up the stage. Was Tenya nervous? If he was, he didn't look it; he also was much more accustomed to public battles, though.

"And... START!"

Tenya didn't give you time to prepare, launching forward. His speed surpassed those of others, no thanks to the engines in his legs, and you were quick to put your arms in an 'x' in front of you, blocking his attack. Both of his hands braced against your arms as he started to push you backwards — you were strong and normally could stand your ground, but the force behind Tenya had you moving.

You grit your teeth and dug your heels into the ground — to no avail. It only slowed him down a bit, and you were quick to notice that he was trying to push you out of bounds.

_Oh, hell no!_

With his fingers wrapped around your forearms, you used his grip on you to your advantage, immediately pulling all your weight down, kicking your legs out at his shins. The combination of your weight and kick, as well as the fact that Tenya hadn't been expecting that from you, had him release his grip on your arms to prevent either of you from breaking bones. He skidded over you, hastily landing on his feet as you knelt on the ground for a moment, looking up.

"Iida is almost pushed out of bounds but makes a recovery! That move won't work again — what will Freecss do next time?!"

_Obviously, I won't get caught again._

Clearly, having your opponent come to you in this situation wouldn't work well. Just as Tenya had burst forwards again so had you, diving forward into a front handspring last minute. He hadn't been expecting that — judging by Present Mic's exclamation, nobody else was either. Nobody was _especially_ expecting you to bring your heel straight into Tenya's face in full force. It was a miracle when he had managed to bring his arm up last minute; it didn't entirely protect him, but at least his glasses and nose weren't broke. 

With his block, you had only gotten his cheekbone, and you fell to the side, managing to land on your feet as you twisted your entire body into the fall.

Thank god for your flexibility.

Overhead, Present Mic and the crowd were going nuts. "Whoa, what are they teaching those kids over in America?!"

Aizawa's voice spoke up next. "It's important to notice the cultural differences in this battle in terms of experience and fighting styles. Hand-to-hand combat like this will be a good learning experience for both sides of this fight."

Next to Present Mic's exuberant and excited voice, Aizawa sounded even more dead inside than usual.

The moment you stood up straight, Tenya had disappeared from your sight. 

" _RECIPRO BURST!"_

Arms wrapped around your form from behind, binding one of your arms to the side as he started to speed forward even faster than last time, the boundary line approaching swiftly.

"With Iida's 'Recipro Burst', he can move even faster than he already was! How will Freecss get out of this position?!"

There was one problem with Tenya's grip on you — to keep both of you stable, his legs had to be further apart. Knowing you didn't have time to think of any other plan, you gripped his arm with your free hand, leaning forward immediately. Swinging your legs backwards and in between his legs at the same time, the momentum was enough for Tenya to let go of you, causing you to clatter to the ground unceremoniously.

Ignoring the stinging of the concrete, you slid underneath Tenya roughly, hooking your legs with his own and pushing forward with all your might. In the position you two were in, the move had caused him to trip, not having time to stop the engines on his legs as he sped across the line that you were almost pushed over.

"Iida is out of bounds!"

Barely sitting up off the ground, you laid down fully, setting your head down so you didn't slam it into concrete. You weren't necessarily tired — if you were, that'd be a problem considering how you were forced to run about 100 kilometers in the first phase of the Hunter Exam. You _did_ appreciate the break for a moment though as the crowds had all unanimously cheered.

"Freecss advances to the next round!"

You gave yourself a moment more on the ground before you swung your legs up, only for you to jump to a stand without using your hands. That was a _lot_ more fun than your fight with Denki, and you grinned proudly over at Tenya. He seemed disappointed, near distraught, but at least he was being a good sport about it.

"That was really exhilarating. I had fun fighting you!"

He nodded briskly at you, chopping his arm down in the motion you were well familiar with. "I'm disappointed about the end result, but am content that we both gave it our all. I will be cheering you on to the final stage, Freecss!"

With that said, he was off, movements stiff as he went to the tunnel leading back up to the stands. You took one more glance at the ecstatic crowd before trailing after him, frowning at your palms. That last move had you drag both of them harshly over concrete, and they were scraped up fairly good. Despite your vow to conserve your _nen_ , you found yourself healing the scrapes nonetheless. Part of it was habit, but if Recovery Girl healed them, you'd wind up losing stamina, which was a tad bit worse.

Your next match was against Shouto. If he took it seriously and used both sides, you were going to have to be giving it more than just your 100%. For sure, Shouto was way too overpowered and could probably be unstoppable if he weren’t so reluctant to use his left side! It was honestly such a waste of potential!

Instead of heading back to the stands, you opted to head to the infirmary. You didn't need it, but you knew Izuku was there and you wanted to visit and see if he was doing well. When he was loaded onto the stretchers...

The thought of it made your stomach tighten.

When you got to the infirmary, you didn't bother to knock, opening the door immediately and going past the only curtain that was for sure hiding Izuku, not thinking anything more of it. The only problem was, you had expected him to be alone, not with some scrawny blond guy.

"Izu— Oh, I'm sorry," you apologized, bowing as the blond turned to face you. Immediately you recognized those eyes and were taken aback, blinking rapidly before your gaze swiveled back and forth between your worn-out friend and the strange man. For a moment, it was quiet. "Uhhh... All... Might?"

Your words immediately sent both guys into a panic as All Might coughed up blood and Izuku paled considerably, eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights. Apparently this... _different_ appearance of All Might was either not supposed to be revealed, or you had totally gotten it completely wrong. However, you were having extreme déjà vu in this situation and had a feeling that you were right in your guess, especially since, when the man spoke up, it was clearly with All Might's voice.

"Young [Y/n]... How did you know?"

Closing the curtain behind you just in case, you pulled up another chair. Honestly, you found amusement in their shock. "One of my mentors reminds me a lot like you," you explained. "She looks like a small 12-year-old girl, but... she's actually really old and really scary." At the thought of Bisky's true form, you shivered and could feel yourself pale. Now that you thought of it, Bisky and All Might really _were_ a lot alike! You think you preferred All Might more, though; he didn't kick your ass whenever you made a mistake or slacked off.

Scratching his head, All Might looked extremely perturbed by your explanation. "Oh, and don't worry, I told Izuku the truth about myself! He knows about where I'm really from and agreed to help me keep it a secret. He's acting as my cover story!"

The poor man. Spitting up more blood out of shock, he shook his head, looking over at Izuku who immediately nodded and apologized. As if it was _his_ fault you told him your biggest secret!

Clearly concerned, All Might let out a long-winded sigh. "Young [Y/n], both of these secrets — yours, and mine — should not be shared with others. Do you understand?"

His voice was grim, causing your smile to falter as you nodded. "I — I know. I feel bad though for keeping my existence a secret from my friends but... I'm trying. In my defense, though, Izuku is _scarily_ observant. I didn't think he'd be as smart as he is"

He patted your head, and you could feel your cheeks warm up. If Aizawa was like your dad, would that make All Might your uncle? "You're a good kid. I trust you. Now, what did you come here for?"

At his question you perked up again, eyes meeting Izuku's. He was still visibly shocked and tense, but you didn't let this deter you as you leaned forward. "I wanted to make sure you were alright! I can heal you, if—"

"N-n-no! I'm fine!"

You were sure if Izuku's arms weren't bandaged up, he'd be waving them around right now, but you sighed. He wouldn't relent, and you knew he'd argue saying you needed to conserve your _nen_ and energy for your next fight. Speaking of which...

Seeming to realize you were here already, his eyes widened even further. "Oh! W-wait, did you and Iida already...?"

He trailed off, and you bobbed your head up and down. "I won! Tenya gave me a run for my money, though — I was almost thrown out of bound _twice_. It's too bad you couldn't see my final save, I'm actually proud of it. . ."

"It'll all be recorded, so I'll watch it when it's released! . . . But . . . This means you'll be facing Todoroki, next."

You gave him an over-confident grin and a thumbs up in response. "Yep, but I'll kick that icy boy's butt, easy-peasy!" Izuku didn't look entirely convinced, so you gave him a pat on the head as you stood up. "Just focus on resting up. Next time you'll be seeing me, I'll have a gold medal around my neck, okay?"

He still wasn't 100% on board with your line of thinking, but he nodded anyways, wishing you luck as you bid both him and All Might goodbye. You hadn't seen the state of his bandaged arms, but apparently he went through an emergency surgery so you could only imagine what they looked like.

_Oh, Izuku... You push yourself too hard._

When you got back to the stands, your classmates congratulated you again, and you looked down to realize you had missed an entire fight as Eijirou and Katsuki traded blows. Befuddled, you turned back to Momo, but she answered your question before you could ask it.

"Tokoyami won against Ashido," she told you, and you nodded once. In all honesty, you had been rooting for Mina. Girl power and solidarity, ya know?

Joining you shortly in the stands was Izuku, surprising you. You had expected him to stay down in Recovery Girl's infirmary, but you supposed you had gotten down there when she was already finished (meaning you had probably interrupted an important conversation between him and All Might). Now that you think of it...

Getting up, you sat next to Izuku, who was too immersed into the battle to really notice at first until you lightly poked his arm.

"Fre— [Y/n]?!"

You appreciated him correcting himself to use your first name. "Hey, I forgot to ask down there, but..." you leaned closer so nobody could hear your whisper, "how do _you_ know about All Might's... uh, weakness?"

Your question flustered him almost immediately as he started to incomprehensibly stammer, and realizing you weren't going to get a solid answer out of him you laughed. "Don't tell me if you can't! I was just wondering!"

Face pale enough where his freckles seemed to pop out, Izuku nodded slowly. "I-I'm sorry, but... I can't tell you."

You were satisfied at that for now. While generally curious, there was _way_ too much on your plate right now to handle yet another mystery, especially considering after this match was your awaited battle with Shouto. From what you had seen, Shouto definitely relied on his quirk and excelled at long-range fighting, the complete opposite of you. Breaking through Shouto's ice would be difficult, and no easy feat, but once you managed to do that and engage him in hand-to-hand, the tables would be in your favor. It was just a matter of _getting_ to that point . . .

Standing up, you gave Izuku a reassuring grin. "I need to go prepare for my battle against Shouto — after all, I promised to get number one, and I'm going to stay true to that."

The classmates who overheard your declaration all wished you luck before you darted down the stairs, your smile fading into a more determined look. Thankfully, you didn't run into anybody, allowing you to go into your waiting room to prepare yourself for battle. Closing the door, you immediately sat on the floor in a crisscross position, tuning out the noise from outside the door. Taking a deep breath, you closed your eyes, activating _ten_ and going into a meditative state.

You weren't going to have a long time to charge up, but you'd take every minute you could.

With your _hatsu_ , meditating and "storing" your aura up allowed you to activate a sort of power-up. You'd instantly regenerate any wounds, and your reflexes and general capabilities would be increased. Obviously, the longer you meditated, the longer you'd be able to keep your unnamed _hatsu_ up, but that came with a backlash — the longer you kept your _hatsu_ up, the more exhausted and worn down you'd be afterwards. Adding onto that, every two minutes of meditation equaled to only one minute of your _hatsu_ usage. You'd probably have about 10, _maybe_ 15 minutes maximum to meditate, meaning you'd have to finish your fight within five to seven minutes of your _hatsu_ activation. If you both were still fighting when your _hatsu_ is done...

Well, Shouto would win. Plain and simple.

**_You should get out there. They're going to call your name any minute._ **

The clear, genderless voice that spoke up in your head had immediately broke your concentration as you shot to a stand, looking around in confusion.

"Hello?"

Nobody answered, and you placed a hand over your heart to try and calm it after the scare. You _swore_ you heard somebody speak up in your mind — a telepathic quirk, perhaps? But wait, no . . . This was the same voice you had heard right before you left Greed Island. What did that _mean_?

Before you could investigate anymore, sure enough, Present Mic was summoning you and Shouto to stage. You glanced at the clock once more before leaving, face grim.

_I have four minutes to end this fight once I activate my ability..._

"Shit. This is not in my favor."


	24. Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your fight with Shouto is starting, but you make a dangerous mistake.

Unlike your previous two matches, where there was a bit of banter and/or hesitation, that wasn't the case here. You and Shouto immediately leapt into action, knowing full well that even a second of hesitation would lead to defeat in your guys' case. 

Much like the past two battles Shouto led, a wall of ice was sent forward towards you. You had opted to jump high, focusing your _ko_ on your legs for your descent as your legs hit the ice below. Instead of sliding like most people expected, you shattered right through, shards of ice flying every which way.

You needed to get close! As long as Shouto had enough distance to put ice towards you, you were at a disadvantage, and both of you knew it as he sent wave after wave of ice. You had to be quick in channeling your _nen_ , switching _ko_ between legs and arms as you barreled through the ice. Distantly, you heard Present Mic shouting, but you were hyper-focused on your goal of reaching Shouto.

Realizing that just plain walls of ice weren't doing it, spikes were sent your way, forcing you to jump up in the air as the ice followed you. While you could break out if you got caught, you weren't sure you wanted to deal with the cold that would inevitably follow being trapped in ice. Besides, you couldn't allow Shouto that opening, not now. Flipping in the air, you slammed your foot down on the spikes. While cold had seeped through your clothes, the ice gave in, allowing you access to Shouto as you came back to the ground.

You were in close range now, and you could _not_ give him the opportunity to knock you back! Sliding on the concrete and causing the back of your pants to rip slightly, you aimed a harsh kick to Shouto's left shin, causing him to kneel on the injured leg. Almost underneath him when you stopped, you grabbed his arm and flipped him over you — unfortunately, it was towards the center of the arena, but the way you were positioned made it your only choice.

Infuriatingly enough, Shouto managed to land on his feet, twisting out of your grip. Realizing your head was at his feet and _not_ wanting to risk him kicking you in the face ( _Would_ he do that? You weren't sure.), you swung your legs back in a backwards somersault, headbutting his right knee in the process. The collision was harsh, and while it had hit Shouto hard, your poor head was swimming for a moment, the arena spinning around you.

"Gghh... You must drink a lotta milk or somethin..."

Even though you were only daze for a few seconds, it was all you needed as Shouto hoisted you up and started to drag you to the edge of the arena. Seriously?! Was he patronizing you or some shit?!

Feet dragging behind you, you found purchase, trying to twist your arm out of his grip before doing the only thing that was on your mind.

You decked him right in the face.

It wasn't with your dominant hand, but you landed a nasty blow just above his eye on his brow bone, right where his scar was.

_Damn, that's kind of fucked up . . . Do scars bruise?_

The force of your punch had finally gotten him to let go as he stumbled back, sending a harsh wave of ice towards you that swept you off your feet. You were still in the arena but being on the ice was _not_ good. It was too hard, and you were slipping around!

_Okay, time to activate it! I got one good hit in, but I need to finish this._

As you activated your _ren_ , your body glowed a soft yellow, your hair floating up. Not that it mattered, only you could see the yellow glow unless there was another _nen_ user nearby using _gyo_ on their eyes. The ice underneath your feet melted away quickly, allowing you to be back on even land.

"Things look like they're getting serious once again! The fight is picking up!"

The two of you moved at the same time. Just as you darted forward at a faster speed, Shouto had sent a stronger ice brigade towards you. You barreled through as if it was nothing, but as ice shattered around you and clouded your vision for a moment, you missed Shouto's immediate follow-up attack.

Unable to fully dodge as an ice spike shot out towards you, you felt your right sleeve tear, the ice cutting into your skin. You whistled, grinning as your skin immediately stitched itself back together. Shouto's eyes fell on the vanishing injury, eyes widening slightly.

"Damn... That was pretty sharp for just a friendly battle, dude." He didn't respond to your taunt as you spun twice towards him before kicking your leg out to hit him clear in the stomach. Despite the speed, Shouto had picked up on your intent and swiftly ducked under your leg before pulling it down.

Unfortunately, that put you in an unfortunate position. With the way your leg was pulled away from you, your other leg went the opposite way, forcing you to do the splits. Thank _god_ for your flexibility and the fact you were able to do this before; you did _not_ want to imagine how painful that would be otherwise.

From above, everybody let out a pained "oooh!" as Present Mic gave his ever-so-helpful commentary. "A full-on splits... And yet Freecss remains unfazed!"

Shouto's mismatched eyes had widened again as he saw you go into the splits, but that gaze narrowed quickly as you put both hands on the ground and swung your back leg around to sweep under Shouto's feet, your legs now together again. You tried to stand up, but your opponent's hand wrapped tightly around your ankle, pulling you down again. In an attempt to twist out of his group, you fell at an awkward angle, diving headfirst into concrete.

Immediately, black started to dot your vision, and you knew your head was bleeding. Thankfully, you were still in _hatsu_ mode — you had about two and a half minutes left — and your head healed.

Still, just because you could heal didn't mean that that didn't fucking _hurt_.

Lashing out blindly as Shouto stood back up, you held your head for a moment, muttering obscenities under your breath the whole time.

Stumbling to a stand, the world around you spun, Shouto doubling for a moment before your vision became focused again.

"And Freecss is still able to fight! Whew, and I thought Todoroki had won that time for sure!"

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Present Mic.

Finally, Shouto spoke up, eyes lingering on your forehead for a second before meeting your defiant gaze. "You should just quit. If you get anymore injuries, you're going to pass out."

_Why you . . . !_

Furious, you clenched your fists. "As _if_! You haven't even fought me at your 100% yet, how am I supposed to fight at mine?! You declared war against me, too . . . and yet you patronize me and refuse to use your left side!"

Stepping forward, you continued to shout. "I can't . . . I can't accept a win if I beat you when you're going easy, and I'm certainly not going to give up. If I have to, I'll beat your ass around this godforsaken arena until you _do_ give your all!"

For a moment, he was silent, the crowd going silent as well to listen for Shouto's response.

"An absolute win, huh . . ? In that case, I'll end this now."

Not the words you were expecting, but the end result _was_ what you wanted as flames erupted from his left side, effectively thawing out the frost that had begun to creep onto Shouto's skin. Excitement coursing through your veins, you burst forward again.

Adding fire to the fight made things _much_ more difficult. Burns were more painful to you than the cuts and blows you had received before, and while your skin was constantly repairing itself, it didn't stop you from trying to avoid his flames altogether.

A bold move that caused half of the audience to yell in horror, you went straight into the fire, gritting your teeth as you made it to Shouto and landed another punch, his cheek swelling up instantly.

**_Your body is regenerating too much and using too much of your aura... You should really stop before something bad happens!_ **

The voice in your head spoke up again, completely throwing you off guard and dropping your _hatsu_ on instinct. Shouto, not realizing that you were completely out of it and unable to react properly, had mimicked your earlier punch, aiming straight for your face — unfortunately, he had decided to embellish on that punch and put his flames in the mix.

You didn't see it coming, and you _certainly_ didn't have time to block it.

Your vision went black, your last conscious thought wondering what the hell your back had just crashed into as you passed out.

When you had regained consciousness, you had immediately recognized you were in the infirmary. While your limbs felt sore and heavier than lead, you were able to sluggishly move them. Your chest was completely exposed, gauze wrapped around your entire torso and shoulders, and for a moment you were confused as to _how_ you wound up in here.

"Miss Freecss, you're awake."

Hearing the frail voice, you looked over to see the little old lady known as Recovery Girl walking towards you, her face stern.

"How long have I been out? What — What happened?" Your voice was hoarse and scratchy, causing you to wince when you heard the noise that left your throat. You sounded like you were dying, or like you lived in the desert or something. God, you weren't out for long, right?!

"Not even an hour." Her gaze was concerned, worry and confusion etched into her features. "Dearie... Why didn't you block? That hit could have very well killed you, no matter what world you're from — and _yes_ , Principal Nezu told me about your predicament."

Why didn't you . . . It was still a bit hazy, but nonetheless you were able to recollect your fight with Shouto, a bandaged hand touching your face instantly. It didn't _feel_ scarred or burned or whatever...

Noticing your panicked gaze, Recovery Girl sighed. "I was able to heal the burns, they shouldn't scar. The rest, however . . ."

Looking down at what skin was exposed, you pursed your lips. Bruises and scrapes littered your skin. You were honestly just a little bit scared to see what lied under the bandages if even _these_ didn't heal.

". . . I don't understand what happened."

Your comment didn't help clarify anything for Recovery Girl as she checked your head. "Your fight with Todoroki, dearie."

"No, no," you protested, voice cracking. "Last minute... Right before I got punched, my _hatsu_ — er, special ability — died out. It should have lasted another minute, and I don't — I don't understand why it didn't hold up. On top of that... I was sleeping. I should have recovered myself . . ."

Recovery Girl gave you a frown in response. "I couldn't tell you . . . I don't know anything about your abilities, unfortunately."

Now that you were focusing more on it, you felt... strange. You weren't sure how to explain it and decided your best course of action would be to manually heal yourself with your _nen_. Closing your eyes, you tried to focus, urging your _nen_ to get to work and...

 _Nothing_.

It was there, a faint glimmer, but definitely unattainable and out of reach. It was as if a thick glass barrier separated you from your _nen_ , rendering it unusable for the time being. 

You went back to the last words you heard before you passed out, the strange voice in your head. It had warned you to drop your _hatsu_ . . . Was this what it meant? You weren't sure, and you weren't going to bring that up to Recovery Girl. She'd just think that you're crazy!

Sensing your panic, Recovery Girl rested a hand on your knee so light you could barely feel it. Concern was visible on her visage, your [e/c] eyes widened out of fear. If you couldn't use your _nen_... It would come back. Right? _Right_? You were nothing without your ability, it almost felt like somebody had cut your arm off. Hell, you'd _rather_ your arm be cut off than lose your _nen_! Sure, your fighting capabilities were honed in and whatnot, but you relied on _nen_ for all of your healing needs. To be cut off from it...

It was only now that you realized that Recovery Girl had asked you a question, and you could feel tears well up in your eyes at the thought of being powerless. "I... My _nen_... It's there, but I can't access it at all."

You felt insanely cold, and you barely noticed as the door opened, a streak of green heading straight towards you in a familiarly panicked mood, although for different reasons.

"[Y/n]!"

Hearing Izuku's voice was a harsh slap back into reality, and you met his green eyes in shock. Immediately he had started to fuss over you, and it helped calm you down, even if it wasn't Izuku's intention. Your _nen_... You knew that using your ability would drain it. It's possible that you just needed to recharge from overexerting yourself. You'd be okay. You'd be okay.

Forcing a chuckle, you slowly pat his head. "I'm... okay, Izu. Please don't worry."

He wasn't convinced, his eyes lingering on your...

"Hey! My eyes are up here!"

Immediately the teen flushed, shaking his head and hands frantically. "N-n-no! That's n-not what I meant! I just... It's...!" Seeing him flustered was worth it as you giggled, alerting him that you weren't actually mad. Calming down, Izuku shook his head. "When Todoroki hit you... It was bad. You got burned really bad, and we were all worried, but they wouldn't let us down to see you," he explained, gesturing towards the bandages. "What... happened?"

That was not something you wanted to talk about right now. "I just... pushed myself too hard. I can't really use my _nen_ right now, so in this world's terms, I guess I'm quirkless? Not like people will notice right away, though."

There was a faint thump from outside of the infirmary, but neither of you paid it any attention as you explained to Izuku. He seemed confused, but you didn't fault him for it. You had a strong understanding of _nen_ and even _you_ didn't completely understand it. Maybe later you could do more research about this?

Reassuring your friend that he didn't have to worry about it, he just nodded unsurely. "It will come back?" Even you didn't know, but you nodded in response anyways, and he let out a sigh of relief. How much he cared, it really touched you. "Anyways... The awards ceremony is going to be soon..."

"Wait, is it already over?! Who won?!"

Izuku was quick to fill you in on Katsuki and Shouto's fight, explaining that Shouto already left the infirmary before you woke up. Damn, you really slept through it all... Judging by Izuku's description, you could only imagine how Katsuki was feeling right now. If Shouto really didn't use his left side on him and Katsuki won by a technicality, the blond was probably feeling extremely pissed off right now.

On cue, the infirmary door opened again, revealing Midnight who appraised you with a more serious look in her eyes. The way she spoke was lighthearted, but you could tell she also was a bit hesitant. Just what did you look like...?

Recovery Girl stepped forward. "She should stay here and rest..."

Midnight sighed, blue eyes flitting to you once before staring down at the elderly woman. "I know, but they want all students present for the ceremony. We can wheel her out if we have to."

"I do _not_ need a wheelchair."

And in a moment of brilliance, you flung yourself out of bed, your legs immediately buckling underneath you as you crashed to the floor, giving nobody time to catch your dumb ass.

" _FUCK_."

Groaning in pain as Izuku began to freak out, you just lied there limply. Okay. Maybe you _did_ need a wheelchair. You were a fucking mess, and there was no way you could walk and stand for more than even a couple of seconds. It took both Midnight and Izuku's help to even get you _into_ a wheelchair, with Recovery Girl admonishing your actions all the while.

Taking the reins, Izuku had started to wheel you out, with Recovery Girl stopping him to talk to you before you left the infirmary.

"[Y/n], dear," she started, voice low, "I don't understand what happened, but that was really dangerous out there... If your ability is going to fail out on you like that, you shouldn't rely on it, or you may not survive next time."

Her words were serious, and you nodded hesitantly. You had never had this happen before. _Ever_. How would you explain that, though? That you faltered because a disembodied voice distracted you and caused you to completely let down your guard?

". . . I got it. Thank you."

With that said, Izuku wheeled you out. He politely didn't say anything about what Recovery Girl had told you even though you knew he had heard her, and for that you were grateful. It wasn't something you wanted to talk about right now. You were no longer in the mood for the sport's festival. You just wanted to get this over with, go home, sleep, and then maybe do some research to figure out what the hell you had done to make your body hate you like this. God, and that display was on national television... You could already imagine Hisoka's teasing and eerie smile at your attempt to fight. You just couldn't catch a break, could you?

With no more conversation as you were briskly wheeled to the podiums, you braced yourself, your thoughts still lingering on your _hatsu_ and your battle against Shouto. Something here wasn't right — for some reason, you were having auditory hallucinations. But why?

_Hello? Anybody in there?_

You felt stupid for projecting your thoughts out to something you couldn't see, even more so when it didn't response back.

_Great. Maybe I really am going crazy._


	25. Underlying Threat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the sports festival over, the awards ceremony goes off without a hitch. As Izuku and Ochaco wheel you home, though, you three are confronted by a familiar face.

The awards ceremony went off without a hitch. You and Fumikage shared the third-place pedestal, Shouto was on the second place one, and Katsuki was... well... You had been right in your assumption that he wouldn't take his win well, and when you saw him, you realized your thinking had underestimated him. He was _livid_ , and poor All Might had had to force him to take his medal.

After the ceremony, you all had reconvened in class just for Aizawa to tell you all that you'd have the next two days off and that when you all got back, you'd be scouted for internships or something? Honestly, today was exhausting and you were kind of zoning out.

Still confined to a wheelchair for the time being while you healed, once class was dismissed Izuku and Ochaco came up to you, both concerned. "[Y/n], are you going to be able to make it home...?"

At Ochaco's question, you looked over to see that Aizawa had magically disappeared, leaving you in the dust. Great. _Thanks, Dad_. Giving them a wry smile, you shrugged.

"I'm sure I can, but the company would be nice," you told them. "I'm just supposed to stop by Recovery Girl's office before I leave for her to check up on me one more time." Without your _nen_ to speed up the healing process, you were in shambles and probably looked half-dead. On your face was a harsh bruise on your cheekbone, a couple of scratches and scrapes along the side of your face where you had hit the ground in your fight against Shouto. Underneath your uniform, however, bruises and cuts littered everywhere. And that wasn't even the worst of it — your collarbone and right side of your torso had been burned pretty bad. _Those_ had been healed for the most part, just a light red sting rather than the angry welts you previously had, but . . . Shouto had avoided eye contact with you for the entirety of class anyways, bolting out as soon as it was over.

It was obvious that he felt guilty over you. You didn't blame him, but you didn't want him to beat himself up over it!

Izuku taking the reins of your chair, he pushed you slowly to Recovery Girl's office as Ochaco walked alongside you, filling you in on what you had missed when you were passed out.

"Tenya's brother. . . ?"

"Ingenium, he's a pro-hero," Izuku filled in for you.

You nodded once, your face grim. Poor Tenya... "I hope he's alright. That's really scary! If somebody hurt Gon, I'd raise hell," you told them. Goodness, if somebody hurt Gon, you'd _murder_ them! Nobody hurts your little cinnamon-roll of a younger brother! You figured it would be best to maybe _not_ say that you would commit homicide for your family, though.

Ochaco tilted her head to the side. "Gon?" Izuku recognized the name, but you hadn't really filled him in on much of your friends and family back in your world. With Ochaco, though... She was _completely_ in the dark, and you were way too tired to even think of explaining the truth to her, so you decided to keep it simple.

Nodding, you hummed. "He's like... My younger brother. I never knew my parents, but when I was a baby Gon's aunt took me in. A couple years later, Gon's dad dropped him off on his aunt. We grew up and went through a lot of hardships together. He's my most important person to me," you told them, smiling wistfully. "Being here is fun, but him and Aunt Mito don't live around here so it's hard sometimes. I miss them." You were homesick. Sure, this world _was_ fun at times (although infuriating as well), but nothing beat your world, your _home_.

. . . Would you ever make it back?

You hadn't realized that thinking about your old life had brought tears to your eyes until Ochaco started to freak out. "A-AH! I'm so sorry for making you sad, [Y/n]!!"

A hand slowly making its way up to your face, you were shocked to feel the wetness and hastily wiped at your eyes. "No, I'm fine, I'm fine! Just a bit homesick!"

The brunette started to calm down a bit, and you shot her a soft smile, grabbing her hand. "Besides, I've been able to meet you all. It's worth it."

Your words seemed to affect your two friends. While you couldn't exactly see Izuku's face, you felt him sniffle, and Ochaco let out a loud "Aww!" before hugging you.

"A-ah, not so tight, Ochaco!"

"Oh! Sorry!!"

Soon enough, the three of you had made it to Recovery Girl's office, the old woman waiting by her door for you. Her face was still disapproving, but she saved you the lecture and gave you a big kiss as you requested her healing to focus on the burns. After hearing about Shouto's past, you figured if your skin scarred he would probably never forgive himself. Besides, you _hated_ burn wounds. You could deal with the cuts, scrapes, and bruises, but your skin felt more sensitive with burns and the chafing of your clothes against your irritated skin was just _way_ too much.

"Agh, I feel way too tired after that..." Recover Girl was true to her promise, though — the last of your burn wounds had completely ebbed away, leaving [s/k] skin that had seen better days.

At Recovery Girl's request, you were to take it easy over the next couple of days and stay in the wheelchair until you came back to school in two days. You weren't complaining — your legs felt like jelly. You would _not_ be able to walk right now.

Her gaze softening, Recovery Girl patted your head. "The rest will heal up quickly on their own, Freecss, but be more careful next time. Even if they are student matches, you shouldn't allow yourself to let your guard down like that. You're lucky none of your bones broke when you hit that wall," she scolded, before patting your cheek once. "Now get her home, you two, and I better not see any of you back here soon!"

Ochaco and Izuku affirmed her words as you all bid her goodbye, the latter wheeling you out of school. The sun was already setting, and as you told them where you lived you were glad to find out that you were on their way home. You'd feel really bad if they went out of their way to take you home!

Riding the train was awkward as they carefully lifted the handicap seat to fit your wheelchair in, a majority of the passengers being courteous in making room for you as they all congratulated you three for your work in the sport's festival.

_Damn, I feel like a celebrity..._

Getting off the train, the sky a dark orange from the setting sun, the three of you all talked about various things. The upcoming internships, things you wished you could have changed about the festival, schoolwork, etc. Conversation didn't seem to run dry between the three of you, which was nice. Most of the talking was done by you and Ochaco, with Izuku interjecting on occasion to join in on the stream of talking.

"Hey, Izuku," you started as you craned your neck back, trying to look at his face from above you in your chair. "Do you have Shouto's phone number?"

"Eh?!"

Your request surprised both of your friends, and you couldn't help but laugh lightly at the shock that crossed their faces. "I just want to tell him I'm fine. He looked really upset when he burned me..."

A look of recognition crossed Izuku's face at your words, and he nodded. If anybody understood Shouto's feelings... It would definitely be Izuku. "Y-yeah, I can give it to you..."

You had opened your mouth to thank him, but somebody else beat you to the punch, effectively shutting you up.

"That was _quite_ the show you put on back there, [N/n]."

You didn't need to look ahead to know who had appeared, a groan bubbling in the back of your throat as you looked forward at Hisoka, clearly unamused and not in the mood to put up with his antics. Granted, you were _never_ in the mood for Hisoka, but he had a knack for appearing at the worst of times and was totally ruining your good mood!

Sensing the tension, Izuku had stopped wheeling you, both him and Ochaco regarding the strangely dressed man. He looked like a villain in every sense of the word, from his clothing to his demeanor, so you didn't blame the apprehension on their parts.

Gritting your teeth, you were hyper aware of the fact that you were both bound to a wheelchair _and_ unable to use your _nen_ or fight back right now.

You were helpless. More than anything though... You were _scared_. If Hisoka tried to hurt your friends, what could you even do right now?

" _Hisoka_. Not surprised you were watching the entire festival," you told him dryly, gripping the arms of your wheelchair. "What do you want?"

Hisoka took a step forward and you tensed, trying to keep calm despite the erratic thumping in your chest. "Izuku, Ochaco... Be on your guard. This guy is trouble," you mumbled to them.

A hand flew to Hisoka's chest in mock offense, but his lips curled upwards, golden eyes amused at the entire situation. " _Aww_ , you _wound_ me, [N/n]. I thought we were _friends_ ~."

"Over my dead fucking _body_ would I ever willingly associate with you, let alone be _friends_."

Hisoka chuckled, a deep sound that made your hair stand on end. "That _can_ be arranged..." The three of you tensed at Hisoka's blatant threat, "but that's not what I'm here for today~."

God, did he have to beat around the fucking bush? You hated all these mind games he played and just wished that he would spit it out!

Izuku finally spoke up, wary of the man before them. "Excuse me but... What do you want with [Y/n]?"

Golden eyes snapped to the boy behind you as Hisoka licked his lips, his grin widening. "Ah... Midoriya Izuku. _You_ are quite promising, as well...~” You didn't like that he had done his research, and you were about to snap at him but Hisoka wasn't finished, holding his hand up. "And of course, Uraraka Ochaco. You certainly have _interesting_ friends, [Y/n]."

You clenched your fists. "Go away, you raggedy ass clown."

Your insult did nothing but amuse Hisoka as he hummed, walking forward. Unknown to you, Izuku was already calculating the best way to escape the situation if it escalated into a fight, the freckled teen tense. Ochaco's fists were clenched as well as she watched with trepidation. Sensing that the three of you were ready to leap in action, Hisoka chuckled again, doing nothing to soothe any of your guys' worries about the psychopath before you.

" _Relax,_ I'm not here for a fight right now. I'd _much_ rather wait until your more grown, as you still have _so_ much to learn." His words came out as almost a groan, and you shivered again. Everything he said always sounded so _wrong_. 

God, you _despised_ him.

"Then what the _fuck_ do you want?!"

Your anger was flaring up, and the fact that you were confined to a fucking _wheelchair_ and could barely move your legs only added to the rage you were feeling. This guy was the literal bane of your existence, and if he wasn't here to help you then you swear to every star in the fucking sky that you were going to—

"That face... You really do know how to turn me _on_ , [Y/n]."

You could only imagine the look of horror on your friends' faces as you paled, nearly gagging at his words. "If you're not here to help, then leave us alone. I don't have time to deal with you."

Hisoka ignored your words completely. "During your final fight... What was that move you did? Your _nen_ was so different — even _now_ , it's different, flickering, as if it'll disappear . . . ~"

With the flick of a wrist, a card appeared in Hisoka's hand, a sadistic look on his face. "So powerless, so _defenseless_ ~ I could kill your little friends right now and you wouldn't be able to do a thing~."

His words spurred both of your friends in action as Ochaco and Izuku stepped in front of you. Were they _stupid_?! This guy was way out of all of your leagues! He would _slaughter_ them, they needed to get out of here!

Seeing Hisoka step forward again, closing the distance between you all, you felt panic and fear claw up your throat as you immediately rebuked them. "You guys can't fight him! In terms of strength . . . He's much stronger than Shigaraki. He's from my world, too." You tried your best to keep calm, knowing if you freaked out it would make things worse. "He won't kill me — not yet. I can't say the same for you two, though, so _please_ . . . Just leave me here!"

Izuku didn't glance back at you, although the stiffness in his posture let you know that he heard you loud and clear and understood how much of a threat Hisoka was. "We won't leave you to defend against him by yourself, [Y/n]. Heroes... they have to intervene, even when they're not supposed to!"

 _Curse_ his heroic personality! They were going to get themselves killed, and you were helpless, confined to a wheelchair and basically quirkless to this world!

 _No . . . Calm down,_ you scolded yourself inwardly, taking a deep breath. _Hisoka usually doesn't attack without provocation, so there has to be a reason for this . . . right?_

Confined to your wheelchair for the time being, you couldn't help but glower at the taller male before you. "Just cut to the chase and stop trying to scare us. Are you here to congratulate me or something?"

Hisoka stopped walking, golden eyes observing you carefully. "You're different. You really are growing, little flower~."

Deadpanning, you met his gaze head-on. "Alright. Fine. If you're not going to get to the point, then let me ask this: Were you in Greed Island using Chrollo's name?"

Ginger eyebrows shot up unexpectedly, surprise showing on his face at your off-topic question. You continued. "We weren't sure why you would be in Greed Island, especially using Chrollo's name of all people . . . But if I had to guess, you're trying to attract the other Phantom Troupe members to you to try and find a way to get Chrollo back to normal. Right?"

The groan that left Hisoka's mouth really left chills down your spine, and you knew poor Ochaco and Izuku were probably feeling the same as you. "You're _much_ more intelligent than I sometimes give you credit for~. However . . . That's nothing you need to know. Just focus on getting stronger and stronger, so that one day I'll be able to play with and break you."

With that, using his bungee gum, he had swung himself on top of a building, disappearing and leaving the three of you standing there in complete and utter shock. Poor Ochaco had the worst of it as she stood there, brown eyes widened beyond belief.

"W-what just..."

Fucking Hisoka. There was no way you could explain all of this away, and you let out a sigh, immediately feeling your energy leave you. You wanted to sleep for _ages_ , an effect Hisoka tended to have on you. One of these days, you _swear_ . . . You'll fucking kill him.

"[Y/n]?"

Looking up, you saw both of your friends peering down at you in concern, both of their faces paled at the encounter, and you sighed, slumping in your chair.

"Let's... I'll explain everything when we get to where I'm staying. After what just happened, you deserve to know." Your last sentence was directed at Ochaco, and the two nodded as Izuku texted his mom before taking you to Aizawa's.

Why did life have to be so difficult? Why couldn't you have a _moment_ of peace?

Sitting in the home of Aizawa, you three plus your teacher sat at the small dining room table, drinking tea as poor Ochaco and Izuku tried to wrap their heads around the new development. Ochaco definitely was the more confused of the two, since you had to explain it all from the beginning, much to Aizawa's displeasure. You had reasoned with him that your past had put them in danger, and that they had a right to know; the teacher was much too tired to argue, although he obviously didn't appreciate you having guests over without asking him.

"So w-wait... You're from a different world? A-and that Hisoka guy is too...?"

You nodded at Ochaco's question, swirling the green tea around in your cup. "And I'm guessing there's another person from my world working with the League of Villains," you told her solemnly, the brunette blanching.

Izuku, apparently, had bigger concerns. "I still can't believe you're living with _Aizawa_ -sensei of all people..."

"Yep, he's like my dad!"

Both Izuku and Ochaco winced at the image of Aizawa being a dad. That was _way_ too strange to imagine for them!

Aizawa had his own concerns as well, his eyes conveying seriousness underneath the layers of bandages around him. "This Hisoka man threatened you all. How can you be positive that he isn't with the League as well?"

Ah, he was angry. He tried to conceal it well, but it was clear to you that he didn't appreciate some man coming up and threatening his students and pseudo-child.

You sighed, not entirely knowing how to answer that yourself. "I'm... Not 100%, but I have a feeling that Hisoka doesn't really like the League all too much," you told him, before sighing again. "But it's Hisoka, so deciphering his intentions are near impossible. I gave up trying to figure out that asshole ages ago."

The others didn't seem too sure of your words, but chose not to argue as Aizawa relented. "I'm still bringing this up to Nezu and the other pros. League or not, he's still a threat and can't be allowed to run amok in this world."

 _Yeah, good luck with that_.

Choosing not to argue this one or convince him otherwise, you just nodded, leaning back in your wheelchair as Ochaco glanced between the three of you.

"Deku, [Y/n], even Aizawa-sensei... are you serious? This isn't a joke?"

Her words were hesitant, but you understood where she was coming from as you nodded. "It'd be so much easier if it was..." you grumbled, running a hand through tangled [h/c] hair. "You have to keep this a secret though, alright? Nobody else can know."

Ochaco violently nodded, a look of determination replacing the befuddled expression that had been on her face just moment's ago. "You can count on me, [Y/n]! I'll keep it safe!"

After everybody finished tea, Aizawa had not so politely kicked the two teens out, leaving just you and him as you slumped backwards, a wave of exhaustion hitting you. Today was _long_.

"Dad Aizawa," you said, not even bothering to look over at him to see the reaction to your stupid nickname, "what do I do?"

"What do you mean?"

You finally looked over, your head lazily lolling to rest on your shoulder. "About _this_. Being here... I'm putting you all in danger. I don't know what to do."

Your voice grew small, meek, and your guardian sighed, his eyes closing as he exhaled. " _You're_ not putting anybody in danger," he said firmly. "It's these villains. What they do _isn't_ your fault."

 _What they do isn't your fault_.

You couldn't help it as you started to cry, burying your face in your hands. "But I'm here! If I hadn't wound up in this world, then... then...!"

Poor Aizawa was at a loss as to how to deal with your sobbing mess, and you heard a chair scrape across the floor before he had knelt before you, dark eyes serious. "You don't know that." His voice was firm, authoritative, and you didn't want to argue against it as you cried harder, causing him to sigh for the umpteenth time. 

"I'm _not_ equipped to handle this," you heard Aizawa mutter underneath his breath before you felt bandaged hands rest on your shoulders. You looked up, your eyes bloodshot and teary as you looked up at Aizawa. "Everybody will be safe. Those League of Villains punks will _not_ get you or hurt anybody else, you got it?"

Even though you didn't entirely believe his words, they made you feel better as you threw yourself onto him, crying into his shoulder as he let out a low ' _oof_ ' at the impact, bracing you so you didn't fall down. Neither of you said anything else as you cried, eventually exhausting yourself into a slumber as Aizawa carefully (and with a little trouble, considering his own condition) carried you to your bed.

Watching you sleep, the remnants of your breakdown still on your face, the teacher sighed as he pulled the comforter over you and turned off the lights, exiting the room.

Despite everything that had happened already, Aizawa Shouta had a feeling that this was only the beginning — and that was _not_ a good sign.


	26. Anthology — 6-10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another collection of short scenes that happened during the story.
> 
> [6] — You and Mina try a Purikura/Japanese photo booth  
> [7] — You start to grow homesick, missing your younger brother and friends.  
> [8] — Aizawa comforts you.  
> [9] — While gone sick, Class 1-A takes this opportunity to gossip about you.  
> [10] — Hidden in the shadows, the League of Villains is working with a new villain from your world.

_[6] Purikura_

"Mina, Mina, over here! Look!" Pointing out the cute little booth, your pink-skinned friend wandered over, 'oohing' at the flashing lights.

"That's a Purikura booth! You want to try?"

You tilted your head to the side. "'Puri... kura'?" The word was foreign to you as you tested it out, clear confusion in your eyes. At your blatant non-recognition, she gasped dramatically, both hands flying up to her mouth.

"OKAY, that is IT. We're doing this now!"

Without further ado Mina had grabbed onto your hand and drug you into the booth, inserting a couple of yen coins to start it up. Immediately, the booth began to talk, making you jump in surprise. "What exactly is this?" you asked nervously, wondering just what exactly your friend was dragging you into.

Mina just laughed. "It's a photo booth, silly! Since you've never done one apparently, it's only customary we do this together!"

You just nodded. It was better to go along with Mina's antics than try and fight her with them, you had learned that a long time ago.

Watching in interest as different prompts came up on the screen, the two of you did various of poses. Mostly, it was just you going along with Mina's silliness, trying your best to play along since you had never done one of these photo booths before.

"Wait, we have to follow prompts?" you asked, confused, and Mina nodded vigorously as the two of you quickly got into position, the machine starting to count down before taking the picture. Right after, you guys were struck with another prompt, and you followed the process 4 more times, each time getting in adorable, cute poses and just looking cute as fuck in general.

Apparently, even though the booth was done taking photos, you guys weren't done yet. Dragging you to the side of the machine, Mina showed you how you could add stickers, filters, and even change the background on the photos to make them look cute. A bit confused as you picked up the stylus, you started to doodle random stuff on the pictures, going a bit _too_ crazy with the vast selection of stickers that you were given.

_Beep beep beep._

"Hey, I wasn't done yet!" You complained as it went away, pouting, and Mina just laughed, patting your head.

"It's timed, so you gotta be quick!"

You huffed. It was so fun to decorate the photos, why would they make it timed?!

Bouncing up and down on your heels, you waited impatiently as the photos slowly started to print, the machine deciding to take its sweet time as the two of you awaited the photos. Finally, after what seemed like a wait time of forever, with a small _click_ the dispenser opened and out popped two tiny sets of photos.

They were honestly super cute — you and Mina looked adorable, and even though the ones you decorated kind of looked messy, you loved them all the same. In your defense, it _was_ your first time doing this, as well!

Gingerly picking up the photo, you smiled genuinely down at it, before carefully tucking it into your wallet. "That was actually really fun! Thanks for doing that with me, Mina!"

You had a feeling you'd definitely be back with your other friends.

* * *

_[7] Homesick_

You liked to think you were pretty brave. After all, you sort of had to be to be able to stand being thrust into a whole new world and environment without any knowledge of how to get back. Most of the time you handled it well, too — you were great at bluffing, it turned out, not to mention you were just an easily distracted person. Sure, this wasn't your world. It was blatantly obvious, what with all the fancy technology and the weird but oddly addicting presence of social media (no thanks to the Bakusquad who all insisted you get on the internet). However, despite the obvious differences, it didn't make this world any less interesting!

You would constantly complain about the rules, sure, but the people here were so nice, and it was kind of nice to see _some_ order around here. Even if you didn't really talk about that out loud, considering the rules and order was a double-edged sword that tended to limit what you could and couldn't do.

Being relatively new, still, you tried to take everything in stride and with wide eyes, wanting to be able soak it all in so you could tell Gon and Killua all about your adventures here. Today, however, was different.

Perhaps it was the weather, but you awoke in a funk, feeling down and not your usual self. The day seemed to dredge on, and you wanted nothing more than to go back home, curl up in a blanket cocoon, and eat chocolate chip cookies. Much like your mood, the weather outside was bleak and overcast, dark gray clouds blossoming against bright blue, covering the sun and making it seem much darker outside than it was supposed to be.

What, pray tell, was the reason for your mood?

Homesickness.

Sure, your world was somewhat akin of a lawless wasteland with magical monsters and very strange _nen_ users, but even with all of its faults it was still _home_. Kurapika, Leorio, Bisky, Killua, and most importantly, _Gon_ , were all back home, waiting for your return — if you would even return. You missed your younger brother tremendously, an ache in your chest nearly tearing you apart.

_Don't think about it, [Y/n], you can't cry in class!_

Unfortunately, you didn't do well to hide it. The class was so used to seeing you energetic and happy and full of life that seeing you so miserable was putting a damper on _everybody's_ moods. By the time the lunch bell rang, a gloom had settled over the entire class, even affecting Aizawa and making him more irritable than usual.

Since class had been dismissed, Momo didn't hesitate to turn around and face you as you rested your cheek against the cool surface of the desk, facing the side.

"[Y/n]," she hesitated, lips tugging downwards, "is everything well? I can't help but to have noticed that you're not exactly happy today." Her words, while blunt, were gentle and not at all prodding. She was genuinely concerned, and you couldn't help but turn towards her, your eyes glistening. Unbeknownst to you, the entire class and your teacher had quieted down, wanting to see what could bring somebody so vivacious down.

Mumbling, you replied, "It's my family... More specifically, my younger brother. I miss him terribly, and I can't help but worry about all of the trouble he and his friend are getting into while I'm gone..." Your voice trembled slightly, and you harshly bit the inside of your cheek, berating yourself and willing yourself to not cry.

Momo gave you a sympathetic look, petting your head as if you were a toddler. You didn't fight back though. It was calming and felt nice. "Why don't you set up a time to video chat? I must imagine living across the world from your family and friends is tough," she reasoned soothingly. Off to the side, another voice piped up.

"Write him a letter and send home some snacks!" The next person giving helpful advice was Eijirou, and while his and Momo's intentions were good at heart, you couldn't help but feel even worse.

If only things were that simple.

Feeling your eyes tear up, the next one to speak up was Tenya, chopping his arm down in affirmation. "Those are both excellent ideas. Even a simple text or phone call could suffice in at least keeping in contact and making sure your brother is in good hands," he reasoned.

Ochaco nodded. "Yeah, yeah! So don't feel down, [Y/n]!"

You felt bad. They were only trying to help cheer you up, but it was nowhere near as simple as just calling Gon or taking a flight to visit him. Not unless they invented an inter-dimensional airplane within the next week.

Caught up in your bitter and pessimistic thoughts, you sniffled before tears started to leak out of your eyes, startling your classmates around you. They had _never_ seen you cry before — hell, you faced off against Shigaraki and his monster without batting an eyelash, and now you were crying in class over being a bit homesick?

It was clear that nobody really knew how to respond to the instant waterworks, and after a quick wave of embarrassment over your display you blubbered out an apology before booking it out of the classroom, expertly weaving through all the students that roamed the hallways for lunch. Eventually, your running took you to the vast rooftop of U.A., the entire area surprisingly deserted. That was weird, considering it was such a nice place to hang out, but you weren't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. You definitely needed the alone time right now.

Curling up in a ball, you cried into your knees.

You just wanted to go home.

* * *

_[8] Dadzawa to the Rescue!: Homesick Part Two_

You don't know how many classes you missed. You just knew that you stayed up on the rooftop past the lunch period, not wanting to come down, and nobody came up to the roof to find you. It was hard to tell what time of the day it was due to the dark clouds that threatened to pour buckets of rain down, but it had felt like an eternity before you felt the first droplet of rain hit the back of your neck, causing you to involuntarily shiver.

Looking up at the sky, you rubbed your eyes with the sleeves of your uniform, gazing listlessly as droplets slowly began to descend in a light drizzle, like a tiny preview of what was really to come.

_What if... I never see them again?_

Sniffling, you failed to hear the creak of the rooftop door, signaling somebody else until a plain umbrella was held over your head, effectively shielding you from the rain the steadily fell. Slowly, you looked up, eyebrows furrowing in surprise when you realized your company was none other than your "dad", Shouta Aizawa.

You chose not to say anything, instead sulkily looking off to the side. The man sighed, crouching down so that he was equal to your height.

"[Y/n]."

His voice was stern, and you couldn't help but look back at him like a puppy that _knew_ it did something bad and was going to get reprimanded for it. You fully expected Aizawa to scold you, to berate you for skipping class and slacking off, but the harsh words never came.

Instead, what came was a hesitant but warm hug, causing your eyebrows to shoot up in surprise.

Was he trying to comfort you, or was this some surreal but vivid hallucination? Because no _way_ was the big and scary Aizawa _hugging_ you.

After a moment he pulled away, you remaining unmoving as you were confused. The sleep-deprived teacher sighed, sitting down next to you and lazily holding the umbrella up so neither of you were pelted by the icy water currently falling from the sky.

It was quiet for a bit, and you appreciated the silence. Aizawa, after all, knew the truth about why you couldn't see Gon. Unlike your classmates, who thought that you were just being a bit needy, Aizawa understood the full gravity of the situation and just why it was so hard for you to handle and endure. It was because of this that he didn't bother in telling you off. Sure, you had faced off villains and apparently faced many life-or-death situations, but in the end, you were still a developing child.

He'd honestly be much more worried if you were completely unaffected.

After a few minutes of silence, of just watching the rain pour, you finally felt the urge to speak up. ". . . I'm sorry," you whispered, although for what you weren't sure. For making a spectacle? For missing class? For being _sad_? You weren't entirely certain.

Aizawa sighed, tired eyes slowly meeting your own puffy ones. "Don't apologize," he told you, leaning back against the cold metal railing. "I don't... I've never been in your situation, but you're incredibly strong to have stuck it out this far."

His words were gruff and somewhat awkward. It was clear that pep talks were not his cup of tea, but he was trying, and that warmed your heart more than anything. Nodding, you wiped your eyes, forcing yourself to take a deep breath. What would Gon say if he could see you right now? He'd tell you to stop crying and to keep searching for a way to get back! He would _never_ let you give up, so what were you doing here, whining like a little baby?

Nodding once at yourself, you smiled softly at Aizawa. "I'll make it back. I know I will. And even if I don't..." your voice wavered at the thought of being stuck here forever, but you persisted. "Even if I _don't_ , at least I have you and my friends. I'm not alone."

You looked out at the rain, missing Aizawa's soft gaze at your words. Not that the grumpy man would admit it, but having you as his daughter wasn't exactly the _worst_ thing.

For now, the both of you were at peace.

* * *

_[9] Gossip at U.A._

Even if you didn't entirely mean it, your presence became somewhat of a mystery at U.A. With only Nejire, Izuku, and a few of your teachers knowing your predicament, to everybody else you just came out of the blue from another country. You joined after the year had started as a transfer student, and for those who tried to look you up online, they found nothing. The only thing available was a video that went viral a couple days before you enrolled in U.A. of you falling out of a black portal in the sky and colliding with the pavement. It was hard to _tell_ it was you at first, thanks to the grainy footage and less than superb filming skills, but for those who saw you daily, it was a bit obvious.

It brought up the question though — just who _were_ you? 

You weren't at school today, although it wasn't for lack of trying. Aizawa forced you to stay home because you kept throwing up — despite you saying that you were absolutely okay and could still go to school, you were told that getting the rest of your classmates sick before the sport's festival would be extremely inconsiderate.

Sensing your absence from class, your peers couldn't help but talk about you, trying to figure out the mystery that was, well, _you_.

"I don't know, something about her is just super weird," Hanta pointed out at lunch, sitting with the usual group of people — Mina, Eijirou, Denki, and Katsuki.

Nodding Mina hummed. "I mean, she's from the United States? It seems there are a _lot_ of weirdoes and idiots over there, from what I've seen on the news!"

Eijirou didn't agree, frowning. "But even if she's from America, how does she not get memes? She didn't even know what social media was, and she says that she lived in New York City so it's not like she was off the grid."

His words made everybody think it over before everybody's minds went back to the video. It was all so _weird_. 

Denki seemed to have another theory. "Maybe she's actually a former villain and is being forced to enroll in U.A. because she wants to become good! It would totally explain the video of her!" It was even more farfetched than anybody else could come up with, and Katsuki finally butt in, clearly annoyed by all of this talk about _you_. Couldn't he have just one day without you permeating his mind, with your silky, [h/c] hair, and your [e/c] eyes that always seemed to twinkle in excitement?!

Oh god, he was making it worse.

Gritting his teeth, he glared at his tablemates, stabbing his fork into his bowl of curry. "Will you fucking idiots shut the fuck up?!"

He was promptly ignored as Denki continued.

"And it would totally explain why she acted like she knew that hand man back at the USJ! She could totally be a rehabilitated villain!"

Nobody else was really on board with his idea. Sure, you were a bit unconventional, but a former villain? Yeah, right.

Mulling it over, Eijirou glanced over to a table to the side, where Izuku, Ochaco, and Tenya all sat. "You know, maybe Midoriya knows. They seem to be a bit closer lately, so maybe he knows what her deal is," he suggested and everybody else nodded vigorously in agreement.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

At Katsuki's outburst, the talking about you ceased immediately, an awkward silence falling over the table.

Two tables down, Midoriya Izuku had heard the entire conversation that had taken place at the Bakusquad table, his face pale and his hands shaky as he quickly scarfed down his food.

"Deku, are you okay?" Ochaco asked in concern, tilting her head, and the freckled teen quickly nodded.

"Y-yeah! Kachaan is just being pretty noisy today, huh?"

As Tenya huffed and admonished Katsuki under his breath, Izuku could only think of one thing — whether for better or worse, you had certainly captured everybody's attention here for the time being.

* * *

_[10] In the Shadows_

Shigaraki Tomura was a smart man. Even as the League of Villains was small right now, decimated after their latest attempt at assassinating All Might at the USJ, he was already planning their next moves. With Hero Killer Stain on the loose, he was currently sending Giran out for information on both possible recruits, jobs, and any information about Stain he could find.

Don't get him wrong, he _hated_ Stain, but he also couldn't deny that he might be a valuable asset in the future.

Speaking of assets...

Sitting on a stool in the dingy bar that the League of Villains operated, he was solely focused on his glass of water, waiting for his other _contact_ to come here and relay more information. While he wasn't an official member of the League of Villains, and their alliance was barely hanging on a thread, the man had proven to be more than helpful, giving him information that Shigaraki Tomura would otherwise be unable to attain.

As if on cue, the door to the bar opened, and Shigaraki scowled underneath Father that currently sat on his face, the hand masking most of his features.

"You're late."

The man chuckled, picking a stool right next to the League's leader as he put down a file. "Such _hostility_! And when I went through the lengths to bring you more information."

As usual, the theatrics and dramatics were too far, and when Shigaraki peeked over, he saw that his little informant was wearing an even worse outfit than last time. It always amazed him how this guy could find the worst ensembles in history. Did he _want_ to stand out? Did he even care?

Not bothering to say anything, Kurogiri spoke up instead, sensing his master's displeasure. "Any information about the _nen_ users?"

The man hummed, eyes crinkling as he smiled. "Including me, there are now five in this world. Possibly more, if more people keep finding ways to come in. Possibly less, if our little pawns find a way to leave."

 _Five_. That was two more players than Shigaraki had last heard of, and he snapped his head towards the man sitting next to him, red eyes glaring viciously. The informant wasn't fazed, clearly amused by his little display of anger.

"You didn't find it necessary to tell me we had more players?" Shigaraki rasped, fingers flexing. His quirk may not work on this man, but it certainly didn't stop him from having the urge of wrapping his fingers around his throat and squeezing until all life left him.

The man shrugged, pushing forward two pictures. " _They_ certainly won't help you. Funnily enough, they're both looking for your little League friend. They want to fight him, although for different reasons."

The other _nen_ user, the one who was helping Shigaraki the most, flashed through his mind. He was out today, gathering his own information all while avoiding being recognized, but he had been the one to give him all of the intel about [Y/n] as well as help him with the League's plans.

This other world shit was tricky business.

Glaring at the photos disdainfully, Shigaraki imprinted both appearances to memory. " _This_ one looks like a fucking nuisance." The informant glanced down, lips tugging upwards gleefully.

"Hisoka Morow," he said. "He may be an asset to you. Or not. Even I don't know right now," the man said, causing Shigaraki to growl under his breath at the vagueness of the man before him.

"And the other one?"

"He certainly hates your little _friend_. He'll stop at nothing to stop _him_."

That meant the other _nen_ user was out of the running for helping him, meaning he'd have to be disposed of. That left only one other concern, and as if sensing the unspoken question on Shigaraki's mind, he spoke again. "As for [Y/n]... Who's to say what she'll decide. I know her much better than anybody else here, and she's very unpredictable. I'll seek her out when the time is ready."

 _[Y/n]_. That infuriating teen that had stood _up_ to him at USJ. Both his informant and the man helping the League insisted she may be of use, but Shigaraki wanted nothing more than to crush her. He knew she was a valuable player, possibly even his player two when all is said and done, but her attitude and undying loyalty to the heroes around her was unacceptable.

The man beside him chuckled, clearly sensing his killing intent, and Kurogiri decided now was the time to speak up again.

"Pariston, will you be able to imbue more _nen_ into our nomu?"

The man looked up, brown eyes unreadable as he thought it over. "I suppose. After all, it's _you_ all who have entertained me the most so far. I suppose I can lend some more help."

Standing up and smoothing down the violet rhinestone suit he was wearing, the man known as Pariston Hill left the file on the bar as Kurogiri opened a warp gate, giving the man access to their lab. He had no qualms about helping the League, not right now, and as he walked through the gate he could only think of one thing.

Of how the games were only just beginning.


	27. Unwind

The next day, you felt better. Waking up in your school uniform, your limbs were still slightly stiff but at least you could move around and walk. Swinging yourself up off your bed, you rubbed your eyes, humming tiredly. _Aizawa must have carried me to bed like a real dad..._

Shambling on over to the bathroom connected to your room, you winced at your appearance. [H/c] hair sticking out in every which way, your [e/c] eyes which were still bloodshot and puffy, and the remnants of a bruise on your cheek. It didn't hurt and wasn't swollen, but there was still a lit bit of discoloration, and you stared down your reflection as you tried to use your _nen_ to heal the bruise.

. . . And nothing. The voice from yesterday still hadn't made an appearance, either.

Hopping in the shower, you took your time with your morning routine. By the time you had gotten out, brushed your teeth, and gotten dressed into a more casual outfit, it was just hitting noon. Aizawa was nowhere to be seen — weird, for his day off, but in general Aizawa was a pretty weird guy. On the messy table a note stood out, reading ' _Had to take care of some stuff. Recovery Girl says to take it easy.'_

You really hoped he wasn't expecting you to stay in all day.

Feeling your phone buzz, you unlocked it to see that Izuku had sent you a phone number, presumably Shouto's, and you were quick to send your former opponent a message, adding him into your phone.

**To:** Icy-Hot  
 **From:** [Y/n]

 **[11:56 am]:** hey shouto, it's [y/n]! just wanted to let you know i'm all healed up, i had a lot of fun fighting you!  
 **[11:56 am]:[[image attached]](https://external-preview.redd.it/7qC-jdaaydDcI6m8aMFiT4-YspXZm_nEi6EK-DW0Bhw.jpg?auto=webp&s=7bf5c8bcdbb14df1694da9b5653a56800cb37bb5)**

After a brief second of thinking, you included a selfie to show that you had not injuries whatsoever, flashing a peace sign for the boy. Immediately, underneath it said ' _read'_ and you waited for him to respond.

**To:** [Y/n]  
 **From:** Icy-Hot

_✔_ _read at 11:57 am_

**To:** Icy-Hot  
 **From:** [Y/n]

 **[11:58 am]:** rude!  
 **[11:59 am]:** uh, hello?

**To:** [Y/n]  
 **From:** Icy-Hot

_✔_ _read at 12:00 pm_

Realizing Shouto just wasn't going to respond, you huffed, exiting out of your chat with him. Good timing, too, as your phone buzzed with a text from a different person.

**To:** [Y/n]  
 **From:** Sparking Killing Boy

 **[12:00 pm]:** hey, u feeling better?  
 **[12:00 pm]:** bc u still owe me a date ;)

Oh shit, you totally forgot about that.

**To:** Sparking Killing Boy  
 **From:** [Y/n]

 **[12:02 pm]:** yeah i'm all healed up! do you want to go out tonight?  
 **[12:02 pm]:** **[pinned location]**  
 **[12:03 pm]:** this is my address!

**To:** [Y/n]  
 **From:** Sparking Killing Boy

 **[12:05 pm]:** i'll pick u up at 6 ;)

Exiting out of the messaging app, you stared down at your phone for a moment, what just happened slowly sinking in.

_I have a date with Denki?!_

You _did_ tell him you'd go on a date with him after the sport's festival, but after everything that had happened it honestly had slipped your mind. After all, you had much bigger concerns right now than _dating_ somebody. At the same time, though... Perhaps a break was exactly what you needed. You were fairly sure that Hisoka wouldn't interfere today — at least, you _hoped_ he wouldn't interfere. You were still extremely pissed at the stunt he pulled last night and did _not_ want to see him.

What should you do, though? You had a feeling this was going to be nothing like your date with Mina from before the festival, but you had never gone on an actual date before! What did Denki even have planned? Oh shoot — were _you_ supposed to plan something?

This called for backup.

Texting your small group chat with some of your friends, it was only about an hour later when they had all arrived at your apartment, the door opening for Toru, Mina, Momo, Ochaco, and Kyoka to come in. You had tried to invite Mei and Tsuyu, but they were both already busy, promising to come another time.

"Okay girl, spill! Who are you going on a date with?" Mina, understandably, was the first to start hounding you as you let your friends in, Momo already going to tidy up the living room.

"[Y/n], how do you live like this?" she asked, gathering some takeout boxes to throw them out. You just chuckled, rubbing the back of your head sheepishly.

"Ahaha... Well, you see..." 

You were quick to explain that you lived with Aizawa, claiming that your parents were dead and that with the League of Villains after you, it was deemed safer to stay with the pro-hero. While shocked, the others all took your story, and you and Ochaco exchanged looks over everybody's head as the rest settled onto the couch in the living room.

Toru was intrigued as she started to look around. "I can't believe this is Aizawa-sensei's house...!"

Mina, however, was not to be deterred. She was a woman on a mission and was not going to let this slide easily as she gripped your shoulders, nearly shaking you back and forth. "WHO IS THE DATE WITH?!"

"D-Denki!"

Immediately, Mina stopped shaking you as all of your friends let out cries of surprise, and you took a moment to regain your composure after that small act of violence. Even Momo, as even tempered as she usually was, looked shocked, everybody staring at you as if you had grown two heads. You immediately felt flustered and small underneath their gazes, raising your hands up in defense.

"I-I promised I'd go on a date with him at the sport's festival, and he texted me today asking me if I was free tonight..." you explained, your voice growing quieter with each word until it was just above a whisper. At once, the girls started to hound you, until Mina held her hand up, silencing everybody. It seemed that right now, she was the de facto leader of the group — it made sense, considering she was probably the most socially competent of everybody here.

Nodding once, Mina hummed. "Not who I had shipped you with, but this _is_ only a date so there's time to change your mind later on down the road."

"'Shipped'...?"

Ignoring your confused gaze, she started to shove you to your room, the other girls clambering along behind you. "Yaomomo, Uraraka, you two are in charge of hair and makeup! Toru and I will work on an outfit, and Jirou, you give [Y/n] the 411 on what to do if Kaminari tries anything funny!"

Immediately you were shoved to sit down on the bed, Mina and Toru helping themselves to your closet as Ochaco and Momo hovered around, unsure on what to do.

"Perhaps a more elegant hairstyle...?"

Distracted from Momo's musings, Kyoka sighed, sitting next to you. "You already know what to do if that idiot tries something suspicious, right?"

You tilted your head, furrowing your eyebrows and trying not to focus on the mess Mina was creating as she threw your clothes onto the floor trying to find the perfect outfit. "Why would Denki try something suspicious...? He's not a bad guy," you said, confused. Was she insinuating he was a double spy...?

Kyoka groaned, running a hand down her face in exasperation. "No, not — ugh. [Y/n], what would you do if he tried to kiss you?"

Your answer was instantaneous. "He wouldn't. We're just friends!"

"But it's a _date_. And it's _Kaminari_."

You shrugged. "Mina and I didn't kiss when _we_ went on a date."

Immediately, Kyoka's face flushed as Mina spoke up. "We almost did though! Remember when we were — ugh, [Y/n], you have no cute clothes in here!"

Mina was quick to get distracted as she started to complain about your wardrobe (or lack thereof), and Kyoka brought your attention over to her, her face serious. "Look, Kaminari is different. And if you need any help, at _all_ , you text our group chat immediately and we'll come to you, okay?"

You weren't entirely sure why Kyoka was so worried, but you nodded nonetheless, and the girl sighed.

"You're hopeless..."

After that very brief conversation, Mina had turned around, a dramatically annoyed look on her face. "Toru and I are going out to get you something that you can actually wear on your date, we'll be back shortly!"

Before you could protest, the two girls sped out of the house and you deflated. "What's wrong with my current clothes...?"

Ochaco patted your back, and the four of you went back to the living room to just talk while you all waited for the other two members of your party to return. You tilted your head, thinking.

"Wait... Wouldn't it have been easier for Mina to give Momo my measurements and have her create an outfit...?"

The others shrugged, and you all were left waiting instead, with Ochaco doing your makeup in advance. You didn't usually wear makeup (hell, considering where you were from, makeup was usually the last thing on your mind!), so Ochaco kept it minimal and neutral to just enhance your features.

God, this felt weird.

Finally, after what felt like ages, Mina and Toru burst back in, earning a small frown from Momo.

"Shouldn't you two have knocked first?"

They ignored her, immediately whisking you away back into your room and forcing the bag of clothes onto you. "Get changed into these!" Mina demanded, and you were quick to heed her advice, not wanting to really test her right now. Once you were changed, you glanced in the floor length mirror in your room, eyes widening at your appearance. Wearing a long-sleeved, black boat-neck shirt under a muted yellow jumper dress, it was honestly a pretty cute ensemble. The skirt was a bit tight, and while you had been skeptical about the choice of shoes — red, with small heels — they actually complimented the outfit nicely. She had even purchased a little black beret for you to wear with it. There was just one problem...

Peeping your head out the door, you noticed nobody was there, meaning all the girls were probably waiting for you in the living room as you slowly went out, feeling somewhat shy from the choice of clothes. Immediately, their heads snapped up, immediately 'aww'ing and gushing over yourself.

"You look totally _hawt_ in that, [Y/n]!" Mina exclaimed, making your face flush from embarrassment as you smoothed the skirt down, clearly unsure.

"Um, Mina... How am I supposed to fight in this?"

The room immediately became silent, with Mina looking taken aback from your question. "Girl, what?"

You continued, clearly not convinced. "It's just, this skirt is kind of tight and limits my mobility... If I'm attacked, how can I fight in it?"

Mina burst out into laughter, the other girls joining her in varying degrees of noise. "Oh, my sweet [Y/n], you're going on a date, not a _battle_."

"Well, the two are kind of the same, right?" Toru piped in, before bouncing over to you. "You're super cute though, [Y/n]! Wear it!"

Everybody else nodded in agreement, clearly liking the ensemble despite your weariness to wear it. You didn't have time to change though as the doorbell rang, causing Ochaco, Mina, and Toru to squeal and jump in excitement, shoving you forward without any warning as you opened the door and were shoved out.

Standing there confused was Denki, although confusion quickly melted away into a charming grin as he looked you up and down. His face was flushed, and he quickly averted his gaze from you.

"You look... really cute."

His compliment made your heart stop for a moment before you nodded once, feeling at ease and grabbing his hand. He apparently had not expected you to grab his hand as he looked shocked, but you didn't pay any heed to it as you led him away from your apartment. "You look super nice, too!"

And it was true — Denki had cleaned up. Wearing black slacks and a white v-neck with a black leather jacket, he honestly looked pretty cool. At least you didn't have to worry about being too overdressed, although the thought of fighting in this skirt if you had to still worried you...

After a pregnant pause, Denki spoke back up. "Um, was that Ashido I saw back there...?"

You nodded. "After I mentioned to them that I had a date, all the girls came over to help me out. I'm not very good," you gestured to yourself, "at _this_."

He gave you a warm smile, squeezing your hand lightly. "You look great. Haven't you been on a date before?"

Date? Mina had been your first date — before then, you had most certainly _never_ been on a date before. "Where I'm from... Well, dating was the last thing on my mind. I had to focus on keeping myself alive," you explained, looking up at the sky thoughtfully. "It's different here. Everything's more... serene. I don't have to worry as much."

Your words seemed to kind of go over Denki's head, although you were vague with that intent in mind as he tilted his head.

"Where are you from again, [Y/n]?"

"New York City. Where are we going?" You swiftly changed the topic, not wanting to talk anymore about your past. Your attempt at distracting Denki did the trick, as he nodded his head at a nice-looking restaurant on the other side of the street.

"American cuisine — I figured you'd like a taste of home," he said bashfully. You didn't actually know what American cuisine entailed, but food was food, and you were sure you'd like it. Tugging him along, you shot him a reassuring grin.

"I'm sure it will be great!"

And it was — after the first few awkward minutes, you and Denki fell into a more comfortable rhythm as you waited for your food at the restaurant. It was easy since you were already friends — the two of you talked about the new anime that just premiered, video games, the sports festival (much to his embarrassment as you teased him about his swift loss), and the upcoming internships. Despite the constant flirting, Denki was _fun_ to be around with. He sometimes said something stupid and made a fool out of himself in an attempt to look cool, but it always ended with you laughing at his expense.

You were having a blast.

Finishing your food (which consisted of a cheeseburger and french fries — "the most American of American food", Denki teased you; it's not like you _knew_ that!), the two of you left after Denki had paid. You thanked him profusely, but no amount of convincing on your part could get him to let you chip in as the two of you walked through Musutafu afterwards.

"And then — and then! Kurapika was like 'money can't buy you _class_ , Leorio!' and he got _so_ mad!"

Currently in the middle of telling Denki about when you first met two of your friends, you were careful to not say anything that would make it seem like you didn't belong in this world. After your story, the blond male guffawed, shaking his head.

"That was a good burn! Did Leorio get mad?"

You nodded vigorously, remembering the scene as if it were yesterday. "Oh yeah, he challenged Kurapika to a _duel_. He was _so_ mad and was like ' _That's Mr. Leorio to you_ '," you told him, trying — and failing — at mimicking Leorio's voice, only sending you and Denki into an even bigger laughing fit. "But now they're super good friends. We've all been through a lot together."

At the end, your voice grew a bit wistful, and Denki furrowed his eyebrows at the change in your attitude. "Where are they now?"

You shrugged. "I... don't know. We all got separated. I just hope they're safe, wherever they are."

Denki drew you in for a half hug, and you were quick to return it, your hand sliding down to intertwine with his own after you two had separated. "Oh, hey," you perked up, changing the subject. "It's an arcade! Let's go!"

Without any further hesitation, the two of you went, telling each other how the other was going to lose badly.

By the time you had gotten home, it was pretty late, much later than either of you had expected to be out. You had texted Aizawa in advance to let him know you were out on a date (to which his texts became very detached after that, just telling you to be careful), that way you didn't worry your dad figure again. Denki had been sweet and funny throughout the entire experience, something you hadn't really expected — who knew he could be so smooth sometimes?

"So that was a success, right?" Denki asked nervously, dropping you back off at your apartment. You nodded ecstatically. "Then maybe a goodbye kiss~?"

His voice was teasing, and you rolled your eyes, stepping forward and giving him the lightest peck on the cheek. "Thanks for tonight, Denki. I really had fun."

Leaving him speechless (in fact, you were certain that his brain had just short-circuited as you heard a small "whee" come from him), you bound up the stairs to Aizawa's apartment and unlocked the door, quickly slipping in and leaning against it after it shut.

'Fun' was kind of an understatement. You didn't realize you'd have such a blast with the class playboy!

"I see you're back."

Jumping at the sudden voice, you looked over at Aizawa, who seemed like he was just getting ready to leave the house for a night patrol. His face was stoic as always, but you were getting a rather good grasp at reading him, and right now he was... stressed? Irritated? One of those two.

"What's up?" you asked nonchalantly, tilting your head to the side. This caused Aizawa to sigh, running a hand through messy locks.

Shaking his head, he sighed again. "[Y/n]... You have a lot to learn about this world," he muttered, before muttering even quieter, "And I'm not sure if I can be the one to give you the _talk_..." What did he mean by 'talk'? You had no time to ask as he continued. "Just be careful when going on these... _dates_. After all, there are still villains after you, not to mention guys might take advantage of you. Just... next time, don't stay out so late."

Some of his words were lost on you, but you nodded nonetheless, giving him a grin. "Don't worry, it was just Denki! I'm going to bed now, so stay safe on your patrols tonight!"

Missing the slightly confused look that had crossed Aizawa's face when you mentioned Denki, you skipped off to your room, happily tired from the day's events. A break had been much needed, and honestly?

Denki wasn't near as bad as you had thought.


	28. The Big Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You get to meet two new people during your studying session with Nejire today; afterwards, you get to spar with Kirishima!

Your last day off was spent being lazy and watching anime, and before you knew it, you were heading back to school. Earlier than you had expected, you made your way to the empty classroom where you always studied with Nejire in, only to be perplexed when you saw that it wasn't her who was waiting for you today. Instead, it was a boy with messy black hair and pointed ears — the shy one you saw when you first met Nejire.

What was he doing here?

Voicing your thoughts as you walked in, you looked around, expecting the older teen to pop out and hug you at any minute. "Um... Is Jire not here today...?

For a moment, the boy said nothing — you half-wondered if he heard you, but then he grumbled under his breath, just loud enough for you to hear.

"She... I'm the one who's tutoring you today..."

_Well, I guess that answers that._

Sitting down at the desk next to him, you nodded once, beaming brightly at him. "I'm [Y/n] Freecss!" While he looked a bit perplexed with your backwards introduction, he introduced himself nonetheless quietly, avoiding eye contact with you.

"Amajiki Tamaki..."

He really wasn't much of a talker. Was he going to be _able_ to tutor you today? You trusted Nejire, so if she put you with this guy, you'd just have to trust her judgement, right?

Nodding to yourself, you started to bring out your books, humming. "Alright then, Tamaki! Jire and I were working on Japan's history and about the different eras or something last time, so that's what we should continue today!" The boy just flushed deeply at your usage of his first name, quickly standing up and casting you one look before apologizing.

"I-I'm sorry, I have to go!"

With that, he abruptly walked off, leaving you behind in the empty classroom as you stared after him, dumbfounded. He had to go? _Where_? He was supposed to be tutoring you!

"Ah... I wonder if I offended him. Whoops."

"You didn't."

The new voice had you jump as you glanced over, eyes wide. The person in question was a third year that you had never seen, with blond hair and beady blue eyes. He laughed, introducing himself as Togata Mirio, before saying your name too and surprising you even more. "Nejire's talked a lot about you, although maybe 'gush' is a better word."

You couldn't help the smile on your face at those words. Nejire was a total sweetie, and to hear that she's said good things about you really made your day.

"So, what's his problem?" You asked, referring to Tamaki. "I don't _think_ I said or did anything wrong . . ."

Mirio laughed good-naturedly, sitting across from you. "He's just a bit shy; if you keep talking to him, he'll warm up to you eventually!" Okay, that was kind of cute, not to mention relieving. You were glad you didn't accidentally piss him off. "Need help studying?"

His finger tapped one of your books, making you heave a long-suffering sigh. "Yeah... Jire usually tutors me both before and after school."

"Tutor?"

Ah, that's right. Even if they were close friends with Nejire, you doubted she would tell a single soul about your predicament. "I'm from the U.S.," you lied easily, shrugging. "I can speak fluently, but my reading and writing skills are . . . Well, terrible." No use in sugarcoating that, you supposed.

Thankfully, Mirio didn't question anymore and took Nejire's place. While you appreciated Nejire solely for the fact you could talk freely with her, Mirio was turning out to be an excellent tutor, helping you with parts of the material you just didn't understand. It wasn't a full session, as Mirio had to get other things done before school started, but he was a huge help.

"Here, my phone number." Mirio had taken the liberty to take your phone and add his number in there, as well as Nejire's and Tamaki's. "If you text Tamaki every now and then, he'll warm up to you! It'll be good for him."

Patting you on the head, he left the classroom, leaving you to just gather up your books and debate on what to do next. You still had a little less than an hour before school started . . .

". . . I'll hit the gym."

Just because you couldn't necessarily use your _nen_ right now didn't mean that you could slack off. Now, more than ever, was a great time to focus on your physical capabilities and build up more strength.

Not passing by too many students or teachers, you got to the gym quickly, pleased to see that nobody was in there right now as you went to the locker room to change into your gym clothes. After all, you knew Tenya and Aizawa both would definitely reprimand you if you practiced and got all gross and sweaty in your school uniform. Well... Maybe just Tenya.

Changing quickly, you walked back out. In the short time it took you to change, the gym had a new visitor, one that was familiar and already in his gym clothes. Seeing him do stretches and warm-ups, you waved excitedly towards him, calling out his name.

"Eijirou!"

Looking up, he gave you a sharp-toothed grin. You approached him without any hesitation, and when you got closer he finally spoke up, standing straight. "You here to train too?"

"Yep!" you replied, at ease in the presence of your friend. "My tutoring session got cut short, so I decided to come here and condition my muscles, more."

He nodded, before his grin lowered and he looked you over with concern. While your bruise was mostly faded, scrapes still littered your body. Even without _nen_ , you had a high recovery rate, but . . . Well, your body was only capable of so much. "Are you sure you're okay to do that, though? You were in a wheelchair only a couple days ago and could barely move..."

Despite the sport's festival having only been a few days ago, it felt like it had already been weeks as you laughed nervously, flashing a peace sign as you talked. "I'm all good, I just needed some rest! Besides, villains wait for nobody, meaning there's no time for me to relax if I want to be the absolute best!"

Determined, you pumped your fist, and were glad to see your antics had worked as Eijirou grinned and nodded, calling you manly before you two started to do stretches again. There wasn't much talking at first, both of you just focused with warm-ups, until an idea ran across your mind.

"Hey, Eijirou... Do you mind if we spar?"

His head snapped up as red eyes met [e/c], and he tilted his head. "You want to spar?"

You nodded. "No quirks, just hand-to-hand. You win if you can get the other pinned down or to give up. Sound fair?"

He mulled over your words for a moment before nodding, both of you exchanging cheeky grins. Without any further ado, you both backed up, getting into starting positions as you faced each other.

"Ready... start!"

At your words, both of you leaped immediately into action, not wanting the other to get in the first hit. 

You and Eijirou had started to exchange a flurry of blows, one finally landing harshly on your shoulder and nearly sending you stumbling down. In retaliation you brought your leg up, kicking him back as you placed your foot on his abdomen, both of you jumping back for a brief reprieve before going at it again. Going in from the right, you grabbed his arm and threw him over your shoulder as he attempted to punch you again.

Your intent had been to slam him down on the ground and then get him in a headlock that would confirm his defeat, but as soon as he hit the ground and you let go, he had wasted no time in pulling you down to the ground as well. Grappling, you pushed off him roughly, a loud ' _unf!_ ' coming from him as your hands met his chest. Rolling away, you started to stand, but immediately your legs were swiped out from underneath you, your head hitting the ground and causing you to see stars for a moment.

This didn't stop you from swinging your arm forward, even if you couldn't see for a moment. Your hit landed, your fist hitting something hard, but it lacked power, and as you rolled over on your stomach to push yourself off the floor, Eijirou quickly clambered over you, pinning your arm behind your back and pushing you to the floor. Your free arm flailed uselessly, trying to push yourself up to no avail as Eijirou sat on your back.

"Give up?"

His voice was cheeky and breathless, and you squirmed a bit more before going limp, letting your face hit the floor in exasperation.

". . . Best two out of three?"

While a little bit grumpy at your loss, you took it in stride and Eijirou quickly agreed to your amendment, helping you up as you both got into fighting stances again.

Soon enough, best two out of three turned into best three out of five, and then best five out of nine. You and Eijirou were evenly matched for the most part, and the score was at three and four. You were losing, and if he won this round then he won today's sparring session, and you could not allow that. For some reason, he always seemed to gain the upper hand in the end, and it irritated you to no end!

Launching back into battle, you fell into the familiar rhythm of fighting. Your entire body was on fire from the constant exercise, but you felt invigorated and happy, especially when you were pushed down and managed to kick your leg up in Eijirou's kneecap, causing his legs to buckle underneath him. Spinning your legs underneath you, you managed to kick Eijirou again, effectively knocking him down before he could regain his balance as you rolled forward to tackle him.

Bringing his arms upward, he grabbed your forearms and flung you over him. Landing in an ungraceful half-roll, half-dodge, you ended up being the one who was tackled as Eijirou tried to pin you down again.

Ohhhh no. Not this time. Not today, Satan.

Hooking your leg around his, you flipped him over onto his back and grabbed his arms, pinning them to the floor as you all but straddled his waist, your chests almost flush together. You were stable enough that Eijirou wouldn't be able to knock you off, and in the heat of the moment you didn't realize how intimate the position was until you both locked eyes.

Immediately, Eijirou went still and stiffened, his face turning a deep shade of red that rivaled his hair. While not necessarily modest — after all, you had nearly stripped in front of Eijirou and half of Japan at the sport's festival the other day — even you had enough sense to be flustered, unable to rip your eyes away from the boy underneath you.

"I... Ah, you win this round."

You nodded mutely, before quickly coming back to your senses and quickly climbing off him. He got up, and the two of you met each other's gaze again before looking away, both of you a blushing mess.

"Uh, I'm, um, sorry!" You stuttered out, and Eijirou waved his hand around, giving an embarrassed laugh at your apology.

"Nah, it's fine. It was just an accident. At least you won!"

You nodded, still feeling flustered as you pressed your lips together in a thin line, giving a small laugh in response. It was a bit weak, your heart pounding too anxiously in your chest to really give much effort as you nodded.

"Uh, yeah... Um, anyways, we should probably, ya know..." You floundered for words, waving your arm around. "Get to class! Yeah!" Your friend readily agreed as you both went to the locker rooms.

Eijirou had waited for you as you changed, it seemed, as when you got back out he was still in the gym. "You fought pretty good," was the first thing he complimented, seeming to go back to normal and forget what had happened in your guys' fight. You nodded, before pouting.

"Not good enough. I expected better of myself, but you beat me almost every time..."

Eijirou laughed in good nature, patting your shoulder in understanding. "You're really good at fighting, [Y/n]," he said, causing you to pout even more. He was clearly amused by you, even as you responded sulkily.

"Not good enough. If I was good, then I wouldn't have lost a majority of our fights."

Eijirou hummed, thinking over your sparring session and his next words. "You're really unpredictable," he started, "which you definitely use to your advantage, but sometimes you get caught up in the moment and overlook certain actions." You hadn't expected the sincere piece of advice, and Eijirou continued to speak, clearly on a roll. "You're also quite easy to rile up, which makes you become sloppy. You're a good fighter, but once somebody knows these things about you, it's easy to take you down."

You stopped in your tracks, your eyebrows raised up as you mulled over his thoughts. _How am I unpredictable . . ?_

Poor Eijirou took your silence and sudden stop wrongly as he scratched the back of his head sheepishly, looking away. "Er, I didn't mean to offend you...!"

You know he didn't, and that's why you shook your head, lips pursed in thought. "No, I actually appreciate it," you admitted. "I'll just have to work even harder to become the best, then!"

Pumping your fist in the air, Eijirou nodded with you, your enthusiasm infectious as he also cheered. With that said, both of you ran to class, able to make it right before Aizawa could start the class without you two.

Sitting down in your seat, adrenaline still rushed through your veins from your morning workout, and you forced yourself to pay attention and _not_ focus on your last fight with Eijirou. To not focus on the way your chests were pressed together, or the way he looked flustered underneath you as you pinned him down...

Aw, fuck. Now you were feeling embarrassed again.

Shambling into the classroom like a zombie was Aizawa, and you perked up seeing his bandages were gone. Did he ditch them this morning? Despite the scar beneath his eye and his usually sleep-deprived expression, he looked just as he was before!

"Morning," he said clearly as the class responded. As usually, he wasted no time in getting to the punch of today's lesson. "We'll be having an important hero informatics class today," he announced, and you stiffened. He never said anything to you! Was it a pop quiz? Oh _shit_ , did you even do your homework yesterday?!

"Code names."

_Wait.... what...?_

"Today," Aizawa clarified, "you all will be picking hero names." Slumping in relief, everybody around you cheered at the exciting aspect of choosing hero names to go by, although you were a bit mystified. Could you maybe just go by your first name? You hoped so.

Silencing everybody with one of his infamous glares as his eyes burned red for a moment, Aizawa waited until the class had quieted down before speaking up again. "This is related to those pro-hero draft picks I mentioned before the festival. These picks will pick up in your second and third years, giving you all the experience to become immediate assets to the pros, meaning that for them to offer a place for first years like you, they are interested in your future potential. These offers can be cancelled though if interest dies down by graduation."

You tilted your head, thinking over his words. A chance to work with a pro-hero? You weren't too keen on working with some stranger, but figured it'd give you a chance to work on the flaws that your friend had so kindly pointed out earlier today. Besides, maybe a fresh change of scenery could help you come up with a better game plan in regards to Hisoka and the mysterious _nen_ user?

"Here are the totals for these offers."

Emotionless and stoic as always, Aizawa turned to the board, where the results appeared.

_In second place with just under four thousand... How did I get more than Katsuki?!_

You were floored by the amount of interest shown in you, your eyebrows rocketing upwards in awe. You hadn't even won, yet so many heroes were apparently interested in your potential? Just your luck! You were indecisive, though, and choosing a hero would be hard... Perhaps Izuku's nerdiness could help you out and choose a hero that will help you best with your goals.

Sighing, you tried your best to stay tuned in on Aizawa's explanation on how you all would be interning and that's why hero names were important, but you were too excited about the possibilities of finding a hero who might have answers about your predicament.

 _Oh well... I guess I'll find out soon enough when the time comes_.

You just hoped that you could choose the right one.


	29. Code Names and Internships

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You receive a peculiar internship offer; Midnight is less than amused with your naming choices.

Class went by surprisingly fast. After Aizawa explained the importance of these draft picks and pro-hero internships, Midnight had busted through the door, announcing she would be the facilitating class to make sure nobody picked any ridiculous names. You thought long and hard about your name — you wanted something that was important to both you _and_ that represented your old world. You'd have to be discreet — after all, nobody was supposed to know your origin. 

"You're also going to use your first name? Are you sure?"

You nodded. "I don't mind when people call me by my name. Plus, that way, everybody sees me as a friend to the people, right?" In truth, you just couldn't decide on a good hero name, and then concluded that you just didn't _care_. Your name wouldn't make or break you. Why worry about something so trivial?

Your explanation worked well, and Midnight gave you the go ahead, so you bounced back to your seat, waiting patiently for the rest of your classmates to go up.

"Now that everyone's decided on their hero names, it's time to go back to internships," Aizawa spoke blandly as ever, holding up a sheet of paper. "The internships will last for a week, and everybody who's received an offer will get their own list to choose from. Those who didn't have offers will choose from forty agencies around the country that will be accepting our interns.

Taking the paper you received, you sighed in exasperation. No way you were going through over 3,900 names, that was way too much! Some agencies had notes by them, so maybe you'd just look at those and see which ones stick out the most to you? God, this was going to be a nightmare.

With class dismissed, conversation loudly started up, everybody discussing on their options and who they all hoped to train with.

"Who do you plan on going with, [Y/n]?"

Looking up, you saw that it was Ochaco who was asking you, a look on her face making you think she was already dead set on a hero agency. Sighing, you shrugged.

"I don't know... I don't really want to go through all of these offers, to be honest."

Some of the students around you who had heard you started to complain. "At least you got offers!" Mina exclaimed, and you just laughed in amusement. Peering over your shoulder, the pink-haired girl's eyes widened at something on your list.

"Whoa! You got an offer from Hawks!"

"Uh, who?"

At Mina's exclamation and your blatant confusion, the chatter around you got louder as she pointed out the name to you.

 _Wing Hero: Hawks_... _Huh, he's one of the ones who left a note for me_.

Before you could check the note, you were drawn back to reality by your friend shaking you back and forth. "Gah, [Y/n], why did you get so many offers?!"

You laughed at Mina's antics, shrugging her off. "Because I'm just that awesome?"

Putting down the paper for now, you shrugged. You'd take a look at that note later.

School proceeded as normal, and soon enough it ended. You hadn't made a decision yet, but you had a couple more days to really worry about it, so you weren't pressed as you hung back with Ochaco and Izuku. Ever since Ochaco had also learned your secret in an attempt to keep her safe and wary about Hisoka, the three of you had been constantly messaging each other. The brunette couldn't really offer much in the way of ideas and help on getting back to your world, but at the very least she was giving you her support. Ochaco was an amazing friend, and you felt relieved that she knew your secret as well.

Who knew keeping secrets like this were so tough?

"So you got an offer too?" Ochaco asked Izuku as you all stood by the entrance, switching over shoes for you all to walk home. Izuku nodded, his expression a lot brighter than it was earlier. You were glad that he had received an offer as well — one offer was better than none, and more than anybody did Izuku deserve that opportunity. If he could control his quirk and use it without hurting himself... He could be amazing!

Ochaco, who had already decided on the battle hero Gunhead, turned to you. "Did you decide to go with Hawks?" she asked you. Izuku, upon hearing the pro-hero's name, lit up. You, on the other hand, weren't entirely convinced.

"I'm not sure..."

Your friends were having none of that, especially Izuku. "I-It'd be amazing!" he protested, his eyes wide and face flushed. "Hawks _never_ extends offers, and yet as a first year you've gotten one from him! It'd be a great opportunity for you, [Y/n]!"

Shrugging, you continued to walk, the three of you in line as you headed towards the train station. "I guess... He left me a note, but I haven't really read it yet. I can think about it, at least." It was as much of an answer your friends were going to get. Knowing how you were, the two dropped it, instead switching the conversation over to Tenya, whom had left before you could all walk home together.

You had heard from both teens that his brother had been injured, all of you assuming he left because he was still not over it. It just reminded you all how scary and dangerous hero work could get.

"Ah, hold up, my phone's buzzing."

Taking your phone out of your pocket, you saw you had six missed calls from an unknown number. Not a single voicemail was left, and you gazed at your phone suspiciously before declining the call. Who the hell was trying to get a hold of you so bad?

_Bzt Bzzzzt. Bzt Bzzzzt. Bzt Bzzzzt. Bzt Bzzz—_

"Who the hell is this?" Not wanting to make it eight missed calls you had answered the phone, greeting the unknown person with a little bit more malice than you had intended.

"Is that _really_ any way to speak to your—"

You hung up with zero hesitation, your eye twitching in aggravation as the phone started to ring again. Izuku and Ochaco both gave you a questioning and concerned look, and you huffed as you picked the phone back up.

". . . What do you _want_ , Hisoka?"

Upon hearing the cursed name, your friends stiffened, staring at you with wide eyes. You didn't blame them — after telling them everything you could about the WacDonald's rejected clown, it was only natural for them to consider him a psychopathic villain at _best_. It definitely didn't help that their first meeting with them had consisted of an insatiable bloodlust and death threat coming from Hisoka.

"Now _now_ , I'm calling to give you some friendly advice, [N/n]~" he started in a tone that indicated he knew more than you did. It was condescending and irritating to no end. "Stay away from Hosu in the coming weeks. I'm doing you a favor by warning you now~"

"What the fuck is Hosu. Why do you keep bothering me."

He didn't answer either of your not-questions, instead saying, "Talk to you soon~." and hanging up.

Yeah, you definitely needed to find a way to block this creep from your phone. How the hell did he even _get_ your number?! Maybe you needed a new phone.

"'Hosu'?"

This question came from Izuku, who looked puzzled, and you were quick to explain the cryptic warning you had just received. "That's the city Iida's brother was attacked in..."

"Do you think he knows something?" asked Ochaco, also puzzled over the short phone call. You groaned, running a hand through slightly tangled [h/c] hair. Of course Hisoka would be involved in something fishy and potentially dangerous. _Of course_.

"You know... Hawks' Agency is really close to Hosu."

You raised an eyebrow over at Izuku. "And you're suggesting I go to figure out what's going on?"

Izuku averted his eyes, nodding. "W-well, it makes sense! Clearly there's something over there that _that_ guy doesn't want you finding out... So it'd be best to go, right? B-but then... It'd be really dangerous..."

You bristled at the thought of Hisoka of all people warning you to stay away from somewhere. Gripping your phone tightly (honestly, it was a surprise you didn't break it), you rolled your eyes. "I don't care if it's _dangerous_. That stupid clown isn't my mom, he can't boss me around, and I can do whatever the fuck I want." Both friends flinched a bit at your aggressiveness, but you were unperturbed. "I do what I want, and if I want to intern in Hosu, then I'm gonna damn well be spending a week in Hosu."

Neither teen was sure how to respond to your miniature rant, and instead you all started to walk again, the silence stale and stagnant.

"I guess... I'll see you all tomorrow."

The three of you parted ways as you boarded a different train than them, swiping your Passmo card passively. Your mind was too preoccupied to really notice the people around you right now.

You didn't really know anything about Hawks, but you felt like it was no coincidence that you received a request from such a peculiar hero and a warning from Hisoka on the same day. After all, didn't you hear somebody say that Hawks _never_ sends out draft picks for internships? Not to mention the close proximity to Hosu... With one search of your phone, you were quick to learn that Hawks was exactly one train stop away from the city where Tenya's brother had gotten injured.

 _Stay away from Hosu in the coming weeks_.

As if Hisoka could boss _you_ around! He was stupid if he thought you would listen!

Anger rising in you, you stormed off the train, making it the apartment in record time and pulling out the stack of papers you received, leafing through them until you found Hawks' name. You didn't even need to look at his note — you had a gut feeling this was the place you should go to, especially if Hisoka was advising you _not_ to go. That creep was always hiding secrets from you, and you had a feeling he was also hiding something important from you about Hosu. Like hell you weren't going to figure it out!

The rest of the afternoon and evening, it was evident you were irritated and restless. Having filled out the correct paperwork messily for your internship, you spent the rest of the night waiting for Aizawa to get home, listlessly flipping through television channels, and ignoring your English literature homework that Present Mic had dumped on you.

The door creaked open silently, indicating that Aizawa had returned from school stuff — and by the smell of it, he had returned with Chinese take-out. The prospect of food always put you in a better mood, and you wordlessly bounded over to the kitchen, giving your 'dad' a bland _hello_ before piling a plate high with your favorite Chinese dishes and digging in immediately. Aizawa raised an eyebrow at your behavior but joined you in silence, the only sounds in the apartment being the _clink_ of chopsticks hitting the ceramic plates.

When you were done, you took initiative and started to clean up. It was only then that Aizawa spoke.

"You're annoyed." It was a statement, and you didn't dignify it with a response. Nonetheless, he continued. "You never clean up. Is it about the internships?"

Much like you, Aizawa didn't necessarily have a filter and didn't hesitate to point out problems, immediately questioning you. You grunted in response, viciously scrubbing your plate with a sponge.

"Why can't I go with you?"

Your question caught the teacher off guard, and you turned to him, your face conflicted. "I mean, I've already decided on who I'm interning with, but... Why can't I just stick with you?"

Aizawa sighed. "You need to expand your horizon. I can only teach you so much, [Y/n]," he told you. His tone wasn't empathetic at all, his words delivered in a sort of 'tough love' manner that made you sigh. He... had a point. You couldn't rely on him forever. "Who are you choosing?"

"Hawks."

Aizawa's eyebrows shot up. It was clear he hadn't been expecting that answer, and he hummed. "You got a request... from Hawks?"

You nodded, still not getting what the big deal was over the 'wing hero', and Aizawa mulled this over, opting to not say anything else about your choice. You were thankful, tired of the conversation as he set the plate down beside you.

"Hey, wait, clean your own—!"

Your father figure left the room, and you were left with cleaning up the rest of the mess in exasperation.

Somethings just never seem to change, apparently, and you were left alone with your thoughts as you finished cleaning up the remnants of dinner, putting away all of the extra food for leftovers.

_Hawks, the wing hero... Whoever you are, you better be worth my time. I have to get to the bottom of this._


	30. Incorrect Quotes — Crack Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's gonna get dark soon so let's have something funny first

**Kaminari:** The moon landing was fake!  
 **[Y/N]:** PFFFFT you believe in the _moon_?

* * *

 **Bakugou:** You look nice, I want to kiss you.  
 **[Y/n]:** Uh, what?  
 **Bakugou:** I SAID IF YOU DIED I WOULDN'T FUCKING MISS YOU

* * *

 **[Y/n]:** You're smiling, did something good happen?  
 **Todoroki:** I can't smile just because I feel like it?  
 **Deku:** Kacchaan got wrecked during practice today.

* * *

 **Kaminari:** Hey, do you think I could fit 15 marshmallows in my mouth?  
 **Sero:** You're a hazard to society.  
 **[Y/n]:** And a coward. Do 20!

* * *

 **Aizawa:** I'm not doing too well.  
 **Aizawa:** I have this headache that comes and goes.  
 **[Y/n]:** _*walks into the classroom*_  
 **Aizawa:** Oh look, there it is again.

* * *

 **[Y/n]:** Hey, I had NOTHING to do with it!  
 **[Y/n]:**... Okay, it was my idea, but I don't feel _good_ about it.

* * *

 **[Y/n]:** Okay, let's just agree to say "sorry" on the count of three! One... Two... Three...  
 **Killua:  
[Y/n]:  
[Y/n]: **Alright, now I'm disappointed in the both of us.

* * *

_[Playing Scrabble]_

**Uraraka:** I will put my 'A' down to make 'A'.  
 **Jirou:** I will add to your 'A' to make 'AT'.  
 **Mina:** I will add to your 'AT' to make 'RAT'.  
 **Momo:** I will add onto your 'AT' to make 'BIOSTRATIGRAPHIC'.  
 **[Y/n]:** _*flips board*_

* * *

 **Shigaraki:** I could kill you if I wanted to.  
 **[Y/n]:** Yeah? So could another human being.  
 **[Y/n]:** So could Hisoka.  
 **[Y/n]:** So could a dedicated duck.  
 **[Y/n]:** You aren't special, Shitty-raki.

* * *

 **[Y/n]:** I can't do it. It's against my moral compass.  
 **Hawks:** Your moral compass is a ROULETTE WHEEL.

* * *

 **Iida:** You know, jumping out of helicopters is dangerous. They say one in five people don't even make it to the ground.  
 **[Y/n]:** What do you mean they don't make it to the ground? Where the fuck do they go?!

* * *

 **Kirishima:** Bakugou is choking, I need to call 911 but the 9 isn't working!  
 **[Y/n]:** Turn the phone upside down and use the 6!  
 **Kirishima:** Genius!  
 **Bakugou:** _*stops choking momentarily*_ what the FUCK--

* * *

 **[Y/n]:** I've done a lot of dumb shit.  
 **Killua:** I've witnessed the dumb shit.  
 **Leorio:** I remembered the dumb shit.  
 **Killua:** I've _recorded_ the dumb shit.  
 **Gon:** I've joined in on the dumb shit!  
 **Kurapika:** . . . I've TRIED to stop YOU from doing the dumb shit!

* * *

 **Deku:** Imagine if somebody handed you a box of all of the things you've lost throughout life!  
 **[Y/n]:** It would be nice to get my sense of purpose back!  
 **Todoroki:** Oh, my childhood innocence. Thank you for finding this.  
 **Kirishima:** My will to live! I haven't seen this in 15 years!  
 **Iida:** I knew I lost my potential somewhere.  
 **Bakugou:** Mental stability, my old friend!  
 **Deku:** Could you guys lighten up a little...?

* * *

 **Todoroki:** Remember when I told you to not talk to strangers?  
 **[Y/n]:** Yes?  
 **Todoroki:** I wish you had listened.  
 **Dabi:** I'm not a stranger, I'm literally your fucking brother!  
 **Dabi:** What the fuck? Why do you always act like you don't know me?!  
 **Todoroki:** Probably because I wish I didn't know you.

* * *

 **[Y/n]:** That's ridiculous, Shouto doesn't have a crush on me!  
 **Deku:** Yes he does.  
 **Uraraka:** Yeah, he does.  
 **Iida:** He does.  
 **Todoroki:** Yes, I do.

* * *

 **Literally anybody:** Would you slap Hisoka for 1 million dollars?  
 **[Y/n]:** I would roundhouse kick him in the face for _free_.

* * *

 **Bakugou:** There was something that prevented me from having friends when I was younger.  
 **[Y/n]:** It must have been your personality.

* * *

 **Leorio:** This must be a romantic comedy!  
 **Leorio:** [Y/n] and I are the main characters, therefore love interests.  
 **Kurapika:** What are we, then?  
 **Leorio:** You guys are the homosexual supporting cast!

* * *

 **Todoroki:** I've brought reinforcements!  
 **Deku:** You brought All Might?  
 **Todoroki:** Well, no, but I brought the next best thing.  
 **[Y/n]:** Sup?  
 **Deku:** [Y/n]? You brought _[Y/n]_?! The next best thing would have been Aizawa-sensei!  
 **[Y/n]:** Normally I'd be offended, but he _is_ right.

* * *

 **Kurapika:** Nothing in life is free.  
 **Leorio:** Life is free.  
 **Gon:** Adventure is free!  
 **Killua:** Knowledge is free.  
 **[Y/n]:** Everything is free if you take it without paying.


	31. Scarlet-Eyed Lament

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After choosing to intern with Hawks, you're able to reunite with an old friend.

You hated keeping secrets. One reason was because you were just terrible at it, but the other was because it wasn't right for friends to keep secrets from each other, right? You felt like you were disrespecting and disregarding your friendships with everybody you have met, which is why you, personally, didn't have qualms about telling everybody the truth about yourself. They all had a right to know, right?

This is why you felt even worse keeping a secret from Aizawa of all people. Not telling him about Hisoka's warning was selfish, but if you had told him, you _knew_ he would have immediately barred you from choosing Hawks' internship. You felt guilty, but your need to find answers outweighed it. If you had one thing going for you, at least, was that your _nen_ was slowly coming back, but only from using _ten_ and meditating every night. You still had a _long_ way to go to be completely back in shape.

Briefcase in one hand and suitcase in the other (you had _finally_ gotten your hero outfit!) you bid a final goodbye to your teacher and all your friends, heading to the train you were supposed to go on. Happily enough, you spotted a figure getting onto the same train.

"Tenya!"

Calling out, the blue-haired teen waited patiently for you to board before you both found seats. He was uncharacteristically quiet. You half-expected him to reprimand you for shouting across the station platforms, but he didn't, and you squirmed a bit in your seat. He was focused and intense. He wasn't going to be like this for the whole train ride, right?

Speaking quietly as the train jerked into motion, you leaned back. "Interning for a week, this is going to be so exciting! Where are you off to?"

"I will be interning under the pro-hero Manuel in Hosu City." His answer was curt and straight to the point, before he politely asked, "Where are you heading off to, Freecss?"

"Shinjuku, the stop before Hosu. I'll be with Hawks," you replied in earnest, and he nodded once, giving you a smile that didn't seem all there.

"Hawks is an excellent hero, I am sure you will learn a lot from him."

That was the end of the conversation. Getting the feeling that he didn't want to talk anymore about it, you didn't bother with anymore conversation, instead closing your eyes and going into a meditative state. You still had a few hours before your stop, so you should take this time to prepare yourself as much as you can.

Tenya didn't bother to talk anymore, either. He clearly had something on his mind, and while you felt awful about it, you doubted there was anything you could do at the moment. Instead, the two of you sat in silence.

It was only when you had a couple stops left that you finally dropped the state of meditation and turned to Tenya, thoughtful in your words. "If you ever need me, just let me know, okay?" you offered solemnly. "Hosu is... well... just be careful."

It was obvious to see that Tenya was a bit perplexed, but he appreciated the sentiment with a firm chop of his hand and a smile. "Thank you, Freecss. I'll be sure to message you should I ever need your assistance."

You felt like that was good enough, and you stood up and gathered your things, exiting the train without any further comment.

Shinjuku was _huge_. According to the internet, it was well-known for its entertainment and shopping centers, and you were a bit bummed you wouldn't have any time to check those out. Unfortunately, this work internship thing was probably not going to allow you any time to go on a shopping spree.

Damn it.

Scanning the crowd, you saw a girl holding up a large sign with the name ' _Freecss [Y/n]_ ' in bold, [f/c] letters. A poorly drawn smiley face on the end completed the childish poster, and you made your way over. This girl was _certainly_ not Hawks, but she recognized you right away, her face giddy.

"Oh, you must be [Y/n]! I'm Usagi, yes I am! If you will follow me, I can take you to Mr. Hawks' car!" She was just a bit taller than you, with chestnut hair styled into a pixie cut. She had extremely large, round glasses, and behind her glasses were two tiny little black dots where her eyes would be. Certainly nobody you've ever seen before. Perhaps she was Hawks' assistant?

Following her to a classy black car, she gestured for you to get in the back while she loaded your suitcase and briefcase into the trunk. Opening the door and sitting in, your eyes first met a brilliant red as something soft hit your face.

"Sorry 'bout that! You're [Y/n], right?" Despite the familiar use of your first name, it was not a voice you recognized. Your eyes trailing bright red, you finally saw that joining you in the backseat was nobody other than Hawks himself, looking cramped as his wings stretched out. You ducked slightly to avoid being whacked in the head with them.

"And you're... Hawks?"

He shot you a grin and the driver's side door opened as Usagi sidled in, starting the car up. He didn't say anything to you, instead turning his attention to the woman in the front.

"Usagi, maybe this time drive a bit more sane?"

His words fell on deaf ears as the car rocketed forward, and you gripped the side of the door in surprise at the sudden lurch in movement. Oh god, you were going to die.

Laughing at your reaction, Hawks didn't seem too concerned at the fact that his assistant was driving like a literal psychopath, barely missing pedestrians and weaving in and out of traffic. "Don't worry," he tried to reassure you, "Usagi hasn't ever been in an accident. Yet."

You tried to not focus on that last word.

Continuing, Hawks spoke, "I'm surprised you're not hounding me with questions. Aren't you curious?"

"About what?" you managed to ask, trying to not look out the window. You needed a distraction.

"About the note, of course!"

Oh, yeah, you had completely forgotten he left you a note. Unashamed, you shrugged. "I didn't read it, actually. What did it say?"

At your words, Hawks deflated dramatically, as if you had ruined all his hopes and dreams before he shrugged it off, stretching his arms slightly. His wing smacked you gently in the face at his movement, causing you to give him an unamused glare.

"Not important now," he mused. "Why did you choose to intern with me if you never read the note?"

Your answer was instantaneous. "I was told to stay away from Hosu. I don't like being bossed around. Therefore, I picked the person closest to Hosu." Your words came out like they were obvious, and the blond blinked once before guffawing, clearly not having expected your answer. It's not like you had any reason to lie about this, as long as he didn't ask _why_ you had to stay away from Hosu. 

He didn't.

Instead, Hawks wiped fake tears from his eyes. "So, you have no _clue_ what's waiting back at headquarters for you?" He was amused, not at all offended by your straight-to-the-point answer.

". . . No?"

He shrugged but didn't elaborate. This caused your curiosity to grow as you waited impatiently for him to say something else. When he didn't, you only huffed in irritation.

"Soooo what's waiting for me?"

The pro-hero gave you a playful wink and a nonchalant shrug. "Should have read the note!"

It was probably nothing, so you rolled your eyes and decided to ask a question yourself. "So why did you extend an offer to — wHOA!"

Veering sharply to the left, you didn't have time to brace yourself as your face hit the window, the car coming to an abrupt stop.

"Seat belts save lives, kiddo," was all Hawks said as he opened his door, Usagi announcing "We're here!" in a bright and peppy voice. Grumbling underneath your breath, you exited the car as well, rubbing your cheek where the glass came in contact with. Soon, though, your irritation ebbed away into awe.

Sprawled out in front of you was a large, towering building that _dwarfed_ U.A. It looked straight out of an anime, and you couldn't help but gawk at the sleek piece of architecture before you. _This_ was where you'd be staying for the next week?!

Laughing at your awestruck face, Hawks gestured towards you. "Come on, kid, our other guest isn't the most patient. Usagi will show you up to your room, so get changed in your hero costume and then we'll take you on a tour." You had missed the words 'other guest', dumbly nodding as Usagi took your arm and slowly leaded you inside the building, straight to a ritzy and chic looking elevator. You didn't spare Hawks a second glance as you got in, waiting for Usagi to swipe a card and press the number '44' on the elevator. The elevator smoothly ascended, Usagi filling the silence with facts about the building that you couldn't care less about.

Within seconds the elevator came to a slow stop, the doors opening with a _ding_ as you both stepped out, Usagi taking the lead. "Your room is just down this hall. I'll wait for you to get changed before taking you on a tour of the building, yes I will!"

Usagi was quirky and weird, but you sort of liked her.

Opening the door that was pointed out to you, you gasped in awe. This bedroom was bigger than yours and Aizawa's apartment! A queen bed sat in the middle, with a couch over to the side and a large television. The carpet looked plush — you could already imagine how soft it would feel underneath your feet, the light cream color inviting you to just lie down and never get back up.

The bathroom was even more luxurious. A large, porcelain bathtub that looked more like a hot tub than anything, with golden faucets that matched the sink. This was _way_ too extra, and you were LOVING it. Did you really only get a week to stay here? You wanted to _live_ here! You felt like royalty.

Alas, it wasn't meant to be. After hearing a dull knock and Usagi's voice call out to you, you knew it was time to get changed and take that tour of where you'd be working for the next week. Not bothering to unpack your suitcase (you were going to be here for a week, what is the point of unpacking?), you opened the briefcase, taking a moment to just look in awe at your hero costume. You didn't want something gaudy or flashy but dang, you felt like a true superhero! You wasted no time in getting it on.

Unsurprisingly, your outfit fit perfectly, and you took a moment to admire yourself in the tall, floor length mirror that hung right by the bathroom door. 

You looked _awesome_ , not to mention bad ass. You had a black, sleeveless turtleneck underneath a white jacket that had the hunter association symbol emblazoned on the back, black high-waisted shorts, and ankle high combat boots. To top off the look were black leather gloves with hearts cut out on the back. You looked like the much cooler version of Laura Roft from the game _Grave Robber_!

"'In the name of the moon, I'll punish you!'" You quoted, striking a pose that looked straight out of a magical girl anime.

Yeah, you totally looked cool!

Giggling to yourself, you spun around once, getting a feel for the outfit before heading out into the hallway, where Usagi was waiting. Seeing your outfit, she clapped, nodding her head vigorously.

"Your hero outfit looks cool, yes it does! Follow me and I'll give you a tour of the headquarters!"

Without further ado you were following her back down the elevator as she showed you around. The training rooms and gym, the cafeteria, offices, and more. There was a whole floor that was just a giant swimming pool! 

After a couple of hours of touring (no thanks to you getting sidetracked plenty of times), Usagi looked down at her watch and nodded once to herself. "Now, to the meeting room!"

Since you didn't really have a say in the matter you followed her into the elevator, watching it ascend once again before stopping with a clear _ding_! She led you out with purpose, and lo and behold Hawks was waiting in the hallway. He did a double take at your hero outfit, before shaking his head in amusement.

"What are you, Midnight Jr.?"

" _Excuse me_ -"

He interrupted you, waving his hand. "Whatever, it's about time you meet our guest. After all, he's been waiting patiently, surprisingly enough."

Ignoring your complaints (you did _not_ look like Midnight!), he started to walk down the hall, Usagi bidding you goodbye and leaving you no choice but to follow the pro-hero. 

" _Excuse me_ , who is this guest you keep mentioning?"

Hawks lazily shrugged, causing you to groan as the two of you finally stopped in front of a frosted glass door. You bounced on your heels impatiently as Hawks opened the door as slowly as he could.

"We're here!" He announced, finally opening the door wide enough for you to see inside.

"[Y/n]?"

Your heart froze before soaring, a wide grin breaking out on your face at the familiar figure. It had been quite some time since you last saw him, but you'd recognize that yellow-ish blond hair and those analytical brown eyes anywhere, a single ruby tear drop hanging from his left ear.

"Kurapika!"

Racing forwards, you nearly tackled the poor teen to the ground, unable to contain the excitement and happiness as his arms wrapped around your waist to support the both of you and keep you both from crashing. He was hesitant but finally hugged you back before he gently pried you off him. Probably a good thing — if given the chance, you would have continued to cling onto him like a koala.

Grinning from ear to ear, you grabbed his hands, leaning forward. "I can't believe it's you! It's really you! And your hair has grown even longer!"

Chuckling at your antics, you missed the light blush that had crossed his face as you grabbed his hands. He had forgotten that you were a very affectionate person and he was, well... not.

Realizing the two of you weren't alone, you whirled around to face Hawks, bouncing up and down. "How did you do this? How did you know that Kurapika and I were friends?"

The number three hero laughed in good nature, giving the boy next to you an appraising glance. "It's a pretty long story, [Y/n]," he warned you, "but your friend here ran into me and after a bit of convincing, told me why he was here and all about you. I have to say, you're pretty far from home."

You nodded in agreement, opening your mouth to reply before Kurapika cut you off, his voice not matching your enthusiastic one.

"[Y/n]," he started, catching your full attention. At the tone of his voice, grim and serious, your smile turned into one of confusion as you tilted your head sideways. Shouldn't he be happy that you two were reunited? Like always, the teen was cutting straight to the point. "There's something that you need to know, especially since you've already been put into serious danger because of it," he said.

You furrowed your eyebrows. "Is it about the League of Villains?" You couldn't think of anything else that could be putting your life into danger, and he nodded in response, causing you to think. Was your hypothesis on there being a _nen_ user with them right?

Thankfully, you didn't have to wait long for an answer as Kurapika spoke again. However... Perhaps it would have been better to live in ignorance for just a while longer, because with his words, everything changed. No longer were you just fighting against a group of misfit villains with quirks. No, you were fighting against somebody much more powerful, somebody who you knew from experience you were far from taking on.

Somebody who could easily kill you without batting an eyelash.

"The person working with that 'League of Villains'...." Red eyes greeted your visage, rage easily flashing across Kurapika's otherwise grim face. "Is none other than Chrollo Lucilfer."


	32. Admonishment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You, Hawks, Kurapika, and Hisoka have a very tense and awkward family dinner to discuss everything. That voice in your head comes back.

The tension was thick.

After Kurapika's revelation on who was the one who was fucking up your entire life (currently, anyways), the two of you and Hawks migrated to a dining room-like setting, Usagi quickly dropping off food for you all to eat before leaving. As it turned out, despite having a quirk that made him look like a bird, Hawks _loved_ chicken, causing most of the dishes on the table to be chicken based. Not that you were complaining, you'd never turn down free food.

Of course, things just continued to get weirder. As if eating dinner with Kurapika and Hawks wasn't _enough_ , the three of you had another guest, one that you had been avoiding ever since you saw him. _He_ was currently sitting across from you three, his golden eyes penetrating your form.

Fucking Hisoka.

Turning to Kurapika, who was sitting next to you, you frowned. "Why is _he_ here?" Your voice was salty, you wanted nothing to do with the clown man, and while Hawks was chill about the entire encounter, you wouldn't be surprised if he also wanted Hisoka to just skedaddle on out of here and never be seen again.

Sighing, Kurapika but his head in his hands, rubbing his forehead. "He's here because he's our best shot at finding Chrollo."

Oh, yeah.

After Kurapika's truth bomb, he had shed a _lot_ of light on yours and everybody else's situation. Chrollo had, against all odds, found a way to get here and was trying to find a way to exorcise Kurapika's Judgement Chain on him. For reasons unknown, he had joined up with the League of Villains, but it was easy to assume it was because they had a way to give Chrollo his _nen_ back.

While it wasn't 100% certain, Kurapika hypothesized that when you had crossed over into this world, it had opened 'entry points' that connected the two worlds. Because of this, it has allowed Chrollo, Hisoka, and now Kurapika to wind up here.

Since it wasn't an exact science, Kurapika wasn't entirely sure, but he assumed that there were entry points hidden around Tokyo to get back to your world. There had to be something connecting your world to Tokyo of all places, but you all weren't sure _what_ exactly it was. Not now. If Hisoka knew anything, which was entirely possible, he stayed tight lipped about it.

Anyways, when Kurapika came here, he had ran into Hawks. The two had apparently gotten into an altercation before Kurapika proved himself, and Hawks had offered for him to stay here for the time being. It was by chance they figured out you were here, no thanks to U.A.'s sport's festival.

It was a good thing that got broadcast on live television.

Poking at your potatoes with a fork, you let out an exasperated sigh. Things seemed to have gotten a lot more complicated.

Unable to stand the tense silence that had settled over your ragtag group again, you spoke up. "So what exactly am I supposed to do here for a week?"

It was Hawks who spoke up, pausing from his chicken wing to give you a solid answer. "Train, of course. You're still a student of U.A., and I can't just let you slack off while you're here. But I really don't want to train you either, so good luck." With those oh-so-helpful words, he went back to tearing into his chicken voraciously.

If he wasn't training you, that meant you had two other options — no, one. You'd rather fucking die than train with Hisoka.

Turning to Kurapika, you gave him a pleading look, and he caught on immediately. "You want _me_ to train you?"

"I could help out, [N/n]~."

Hisoka was promptly ignored as you nodded at Kurapika. "Please! Your _hatsu_ is amazing, so I trust in you to be a good teacher!"

Kurapika wasn't convinced as he frowned. "I don't know... Could you explain what happened at that sport's festival again?" You hesitated, for obvious reasons. Now would probably be a good time to talk about the strange voice, as Kurapika and Hisoka may have a better idea on what is happening to you. Still . . . If they didn't believe you, that was going to be embarrassing.

"I . . . Listen, what I'm going to say is going to sound crazy. You guys _have_ to believe me, though."

Your words were directed at everybody, but your eyes locked onto Kurapika, pleading with him in particular. You didn't give a shit about Hawks' or Hisoka's opinions in the end, but _Kurapika_? You counted on him.

Everybody at the table were confused, but finally Kurapika spoke up. "I'll believe you, [Y/n]. What happened?"

"I heard a voice."

. . . 

"Um. _What?_ "

You had started from the beginning, explaining the voice from Greed Island, and how it didn't appear again until during the Sport's Festival. How you had used your _hatsu_ plenty of times before, but for some reason it reacted different, and how your _nen_ was barely there. You could feel it, so your nodes weren't blocked off, but it was as if there was an invisible wall stopping you from actually being able to use it. Every day, it got a bit better, but . . . It was _not_ to your previous efficiency. 

After your truth bomb, everybody remained quiet. Hisoka, for once, was not smiling, his eyes narrowed in thought. Kurapika seemed to be trying his best to grasp it, and he was the first to break the silence.

"Do you think this voice is the reason why you wound up . . . _here_?"

Hell if you knew. Shrugging, you looked over to Hisoka. "Any ideas, Twisty?" Hawks, the only one who actually understood your T.V. show reference, snorted. Hisoka, on the other hand, just gave an amused smile.

"Possibly . . . You're just going crazy~."

So that would be a 'no'. Rolling your eyes, you turned back to Kurapika, shrugging hopelessly. "So any ideas on what to do next? Without _nen_ , I'm a sitting duck. It's definitely _not_ ideal."

"You need to go back to the basics," Kurapika demanded. "Focus on your _ten_ and build it up. If you need to use that ability again in the future, you can't risk passing out right after, especially not in a battle," he said, and Hawks was quick to agree, pitching in and saying that it wouldn't hurt for you to practice the basics anyways. You sighed, slouching in your chair. It was aggravating for sure, but what more could you do? They had a point. Still . . .

"I want to go on patrol and do hero stuff with you," you admitted towards Hawks.

Hawks laughed. "I mean, you'll have to if we don't want to cause any suspicion, but it doesn't change the fact that your basics are lacking. And I'm not talking about that _nen_ stuff or whatever, kid." You bristled at being called a kid. This guy was, what, early 20s? 

"What does _that_ mean?" you asked defensively, scowling and crossing your arms as you leaned back in your chair.

"I've seen you fight," the blond pointed out. "It's not just your _nen_ you're lacking in — you need some serious combat training."

" _Excuse me-_ "

Hawks continued, not giving you room to argue. "Let's face it, even if you don't plan on staying in this world, you're in school to become a hero with loose morals and a personality that's shoddy at best. From what I've seen and what I've heard from these two, you're constantly letting your temper get ahead of you, you don't think before you do _anything_ which has already caused some serious repercussions in this world, and how many times have you broken the law and rules since you've been here?

Even if your world is different, you're now training to become a professional hero. You can't just run off and do whatever you want. You can't flash your _nen_ off without expecting consequences, and you can't just let your temper get better of you every time somebody insults you or tries to get a rise out of you. If you don't work on any of that, then you shouldn't have even been able to become a 'hunter', let alone given the chance to become a hero."

You sat back, stunned and taken aback. When you had first met Hawks, especially after reading up about him, you kind of pictured him to be a bird brain (no pun intended). He seemed lax and lazy and kind of unmotivated, and while it baffled you as to how he had gotten to the number three hero spot, you hadn't really given him much thought.

You had clearly underestimated him, and his grim voice and narrowed eyes showed that he was _not_ messing around.

Your other two companions remained quiet, watching you to see how you'd react to just being called the fuck out on all your problematic behaviors from the past few weeks especially. Neither came to your defense, not even Kurapika, who was a close friend of yours. It was clear they agreed to Hawks to some extent.

Slumping in defeat, you looked down at your plate, pushing the food around. He was right. He was _right_. You were childish and impulsive and never thought of the consequences of your actions.

Not responding, Hawks spoke up again, his voice less harsh than before. "I know you're overwhelmed and learning and stuff, but you need to take this seriously. Lives are at stake here, you can't just do whatever you want anymore, not when others are involved."

". . . I know."

Your voice came out sullen and quiet, a pout barely noticeable. 

You had been _selfish_.

Sensing the defeated attitude coming from you, Kurapika spoke up, a hand hovering hesitantly before coming to rest on your shoulder. "[Y/n], you're strong, and you've been through a lot with Gon and Killua, but you still have a lot to learn. With a bit more training and practice, you could be unstoppable. You just have to take this seriously."

He wasn't the best at comforting, he never was, but you nodded, allowing a grim and tight smile to spread across your face as you looked up. Your cheeks were a bit red, burning from embarrassment at being scolded big time, but you were resolved.

"I'm 100% serious, so you all better teach me well," you said. Hawks and Kurapika looked relieved that you weren't going to start throwing a tantrum, and Hisoka's grin just widened as he finally broke his silence.

" _Perfect_."

It seemed like the next week was going to be much more grueling than you expected.

"Hah! Hah!"

Punching the bag that hung in the corner, you didn't pause to catch your breath as you aimed a particularly nasty kick at the sandbag, knocking it off and sending it flying into the wall. Like you had expected, there was no rest for you as your training started.

In the morning, you'd meditate and practice your _ten_ , getting closer and closer to getting control of your _nen_ again. After an hour of meditation was physical conditioning — weightlifting, push-ups, boxing, running, and more. Hisoka had taken charge of this, constantly pushing you to the brink of exhaustion, his golden eyes always piercing through you. Honestly, you were pretty sure he got off on watching you hurt yourself from overworking. At least he wasn't fighting you.

That was Kurapika's responsibility. After lunch, you'd patrol with Hawks for an hour to keep up appearances (AKA be his errand girl), then head back to spar with Kurapika. Even though the two of you were friends, he was surprisingly good at sending hurtful jabs your way to try and rile you up. Part of this training was to test your patience as well as learn new moves. That was _one_ thing you had going for you; your style was based on gymnastics and flexibility, so it was always interesting to watch Kurapika get frustrated when he couldn't get you right away. 

The only other thing you had going for you when fighting was that you were fast and very unpredictable. While it often left your opponents guessing at what you were going to do next, unpredictability was a double-edged sword. Kurapika constantly drove in that you needed to have options. You couldn't decide on a whim on what your next move should be, especially in life-or-death situations. It could put you, _and_ your allies, at risk. As he put it, your unpredictability you prided yourself on was extremely selfish in a sense.

Boy, did he just love pointing out your faults. Some friend, huh? Although, you mused, maybe that was what friends were for — to tell you how it was. How else were you going to improve yourself, after all?

After sparring with Kurapika was when you would hold up _ten_ again until dinner. By the time it came to eat at night, you were exhausted and ready to sleep, falling into the routine of getting up super early and training harshly all day.

"[Y/n]," Kurapika called out, "I want you to try using your _nen_ again. Just _gyo_ will work fine."

You were a bit skeptical about the suggestion, but nodded nonetheless. It was there. Just barely, though, as you noted Kurapika's aura around him, as calm as ever. After a moment, you dropped it, a bitter look on your face.

"I could see your aura . . . But barely." Frustration gnawed at your heart. "I don't understand... Why can't I use it?! It feels like I'm being _blocked_ from it.... I hate it!"

Sensing your distress, Kurapika started to move in, frowning. "[Y/n] . . . "

His words fell on deaf ears, though, as a now-familiar voice spoke up in your mind.

**_I'm just trying to protect you! When you use_ ** **nen _you always get hurt . . . And I don't like that! I don't want you to get hurt!_**

You froze, the words ringing in your ears. "I'm — sorry? That's not your choice to take away my _nen_ like that!"

Even though the genderless voice didn't speak, you could still feel the presence in the back of your head before the voice started to sniffle. Oh god — was it _crying_?!

"Look, I didn't mean to get mad, but it's hurting me mentally . . . Can you please let me use my _nen_ again?"

The voice didn't respond, and soon you felt the presence leave. As the presence left, though, you could feel a familiar warmth flow throughout your body and down to your fingertips. Using _gyo_ and staring at your hands, you could see your aura clearly.

"My _nen_...."

You slumped to the ground, and poor Kurapika stared on in confusion, unsure of what to do or what just happened. Sensing his gaze on you, you tiredly explained. "That voice... They were blocking me from using my _nen_ , but they gave it back. God . . . I'm exhausted."

Kurapika's gaze softened as he crouched down in front of you, frowning. "We're done with training tonight. You should get some rest, [Y/n]."

Looking over at him, you stretched your arms out to him. "Can you carry me to my room?"

The bold question immediately had Kurapika flush, muttering something underneath his breath before sighing. "You're needy." Despite the complaint, he had quickly picked you up bridal style, and you wasted no time in lying your head against his chest, your eyelids fluttering closed.

Too tired to stay awake, you missed the soft smile on Kurapika's face, falling asleep before the two of you even reached your room.


	33. Playing Detective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hawks finds you a babysitter, and you receive a cryptic warning.

Today, like the few before, you woke up early, your body screaming at you. Events of yesterday came back instantly, and you frowned, trying to reach out to the voice that had been in your head. It didn't come back — it was just you, left alone with your thoughts. You could almost write it off, but... No. It was certainly real.

Searching within yourself, you felt your _nen_ back at its normal levels, flowing throughout you — _that_ was something. You were still exhausted, but at least you weren't cut off from your _nen_ anymore.

Crossing your legs on your bed and getting ready to meditate for the day, you were startled as your door slammed open, revealing Hawks. You glared, not really appreciating the interruption.

Doing a double take at your ruffled, bed-head appearance, Hawks shook his head. "You're a sight for sore eyes, kid, but I hope you're ready to go today. Get dressed in your hero suit," he said, before grinning at you. "We're doing something different today."

Leaving the room as quickly as he had appeared, you stuck your tongue out at his back before complying. Your limbs were sore, yes, but able to move, and that was what was important. Still, you found yourself grimacing at the stiffness as you took a quick shower and made yourself presentable, frowning at your reflection in the mirror. A sight for sore eyes, indeed. You had bags under your eyes, and your skin was paler than normal. You _felt_ fine, but certainly didn't look the part.

When you deemed yourself ready, you left your room to find Usagi waiting for you. The girl bowed to you before immediately taking you to the meeting room where you were first reunited with Kurapika on your first day here.

Waiting in the room was Hawks and Kurapika — thankfully no Hisoka, which was unsurprising. Wherever he was staying, it wasn't here, and it wasn't uncommon for him to just disappear for hours at a time to do god _knows_ what. He even left in the middle of your "training" with him sometimes, not that you were complaining about his absence. It was a blessing, honestly.

"So what's different about today? I actually am really enjoying the basic training," you stated, somewhat sarcastic. Kurapika looked annoyed if anything as Hawks spoke.

"I have business in Hosu, and you two are coming with me."

Hosu... Oh, yeah. In light of everything that was going on, you totally forgot to ask Hisoka about his cryptic as fuck warning. Was it too late to ask now?

Kurapika crossed his arms. "I should be staying out of public eye, if Chrollo knows I'm here then it will make things a lot harder." You were inclined to agree with Kurapika. It was hard for you to stay out of the spotlight no thanks to being in U.A. and the sport's festival, but Kurapika's existence in this world was tight under wraps. 

Hawks wasn't having it. "Wear a disguise then, but I don't trust you enough to exactly leave you here while we're in Hosu." While Kurapika was a good guy and you'd definitely vouch for him, you didn't blame Hawks for being skeptical. After all, in his line of work, it was probably smart to not be overly trusting.

Kurapika scowled, not wanting to go along with Hawks for a moment, and the two went off to the side to have a heated discussion, leaving you standing there in your hero outfit, impatiently tapping your foot. It didn't help that you were entirely left out and cast aside from this conversation now.

After a couple more minutes, with you finally resorting to scrolling through memes on your phone, Hawks shrugged. "Okay, fine, stay here, but if we find any information about Chrollo or the League we're not messaging you. You'll have to wait until we get back. And don't mess with anything around here, just stick in your room or something."

You perked up at this. "We're going on a secret mission?!"

Hawks snorted, patting your head like a child. "No. Now come on."

That was vague and sketchy as fuck, but you really had no reason to deny so you waved Kurapika goodbye and followed Hawks out the door, the two of you heading to the train station without any other words to say. Hosu was only one stop away, so you wouldn't be far from Kurapika if you ever needed help, but... For some strange reason, there was just a gut feeling that something bad was going to happen that you just couldn't shake.

Not that you had time to worry — you and Hawks were quick to leave, not wasting time to dawdle or worry as the two of you took the train to Hosu. The trip was short and brief, and Hawks was being so tight lipped about who you would be patrolling with today that by the time you both got off the train, you were bouncing in anticipation.

"Oh, wow!"

Staring up at the tall buildings in awe, you barely paid attention to Hawks as you took in the new part of Tokyo. So busy and focused on the graver situations at hand, you never had a chance to explore the other precincts. Hosu, much like other parts of Tokyo, was filled with skyscrapers and people. Of course, it was a bit harder to navigate when your guide was a walking beacon.

Even now, plenty of people were approaching you both, a majority of them being women fawning over Hawks. You tilted your head as you looked at him — you just couldn't see the attraction. He seemed like the guy to always eat the last of the leftovers and to clog the shower drain with his feathers.

Your musings were put to a halt when a younger kid approached you with a small notebook. "You're from the sports festival, right? Freecss?" You blinked once, before your mouth morphed into a grin as you nodded.

"Yeah! That's me!"

The younger kid shoved his notebook towards you. "Can I have your autograph?!"

You immediately took the notebook and, displaying what you thought was an air of cool and calm, signed your name messily in his notebook before adding a little heart. The kid thanked you profusely before heading back towards what looked to be his parents. It was only until he was out of eyesight that you turned to Hawks, excited.

"He asked for my autograph! Isn't that cool?! I feel famous!"

Hawks chuckled shrugging. "If you're always in the spotlight, you're going to get used to it."

His words rolled off of you as the two of you continued forward until you both reached what appeared to be another hero agency. Hawks went straight through, not even needing an ID to get the two of you through. You figured it made sense — his wings were a dead giveaway.

After waiting bored for a few minutes, you crossed your arms. "What exactly are we doing here?"

He opened his mouth to answer but was immediately sidetracked as a man came around the corner, his presence towering and stifling. You immediately grimaced — that was Endeavor, for sure. And by the looks of it, Hawks "friend".

Waving at the super-imposing man, Hawks went over, and you trailed awkwardly after him. "I have to do a mission today, so I'm leaving my apprentice in your care. You're watching another one of her classmates, right?"

Your jaw nearly dropped and you could feel anger bubble up. "Hey, wait a minute!"

Endeavor seemed to be in agreement, clearly not wanting to babysit you. The fire around him seemed to grow bigger, but Hawks sped out of there faster than you thought was possible, leaving you alone with the #2 hero. You weren't easily intimidated, but right now? You kind of just wanted to shrink in on yourself.

"Uh... hey..."

Apparently, that wasn't a good enough greeting as Endeavor's nostrils flared, the flames mimicking the movements. He looked ready to smite you if it weren't for the other person with him.

"Freecss?"

You hadn't noticed him before, not behind what was probably the scariest hero in existence, but you recognized him as soon as he spoke up, peering at you in confusion. You waved meekly, not entirely sure how you got stuck in this situation.

"Um, hi, Shouto."

Upon using his son's first name, Endeavor's glower deepened. "You're that girl." The way he spoke was disdainful, as if he viewed you as just a pest. He probably did, honestly. "I don't have time for this. You just stay here and out of my way."

This was the second time today that you were being cast aside, and you felt yourself bristle. Did nobody find you worth the time of day? This was all Hawks' fault! You were going to beat him when he got back!

Before you could say something that you would definitely regret, Shouto spoke up for you, his face a blank slate. "Let her come."

The next few moments made you feel very awkward as Endeavor and Shouto had what could only be described as an intense stare down. Nothing was said, and you knew better than to try and butt in. Finally, Endeavor straightened up, and you could have _sworn_ you saw a slight smirk on his lips before it morphed back into his normal scowl.

"Alright, girl, you can come along. That stupid brat..." He trailed off, and you could tell 'that stupid brat' was probably Hawks. Nonetheless, you didn't argue, perking up immediately.

"Thank you! I'm [Y/n]!"

Endeavor ignored you and started to walk out, and you immediately trailed after him and Shouto, perky again. "Thanks for sticking up for me," you told Shouto, who just shrugged awkwardly in response. Oh well, you can't win everybody, and you already knew that Shouto wasn't a very sociable person. That didn't bother you — he certainly wasn't the first person you had met who wasn't sociable. However, that wasn't going to stop you from trying to make conversation with him.

"So don't get me wrong, but I thought you hated Endeavor?" You asked quietly as you and Shouto trailed behind the towering hero. He gave you a side glance before averting his eyes, seeming in thought.

". . . I figured I could learn the most from him." It was sound enough, and you had to applaud Shouto's maturity. If you were in his position, you would have explicitly told Endeavor what he could do with his offer. Then again, Shouto was the top in the class for a reason, so it only made sense that he was mature and made smart decisions.

Nodding, you shoved your hands into the pocket of your hoodie. "At least you're doing something productive," was your response as you mulled over the past few days you had spent training. You had learned something too, so that could count for something, right?

Silence fell again, and Shouto looked over at you. "Freecss... At the sport's festival —"

"OHMYGOSH IT'S ENDEAVOR!" Interrupting Shouto from his question was an older woman who ran up and had asked for Endeavor's autograph (and was promptly ignored as he continued to walk past). You and Shouto exchanged glances, and he didn't attempt to speak again after the interruption.

Fangirl aside, people didn't approach Endeavor, even with his #2 hero status. He clearly didn't care that the public either hated him or was terrified of him, and this unfortunately extended to you and Shouto. There were a few people that looked like they really wanted to approach the two of you but were stopped by Endeavor's fierce glare. 

Sheesh, this guy was _not_ a people person. You thought Shouto was bad, but he didn't hold a candle to his dad.

Unfortunately — or maybe, fortunately? — the day went by uneventfully. There was little conversation between you and Shouto after his failed attempt at discussing the sport's festival, and you didn't even attempt to talk to Endeavor. It seemed like you had worked yourself up over nothing, as there were no villain attacks whatsoever. The three of you just spent the day walking around and patrolling, keeping an eye out for danger. You had learned quickly to _not_ engage in conversation with Endeavor.

Eating an early dinner at a cafe, sat far away from Endeavor (Shouto's insistence), the two of you ate in an awkward silence. Nervous, you were nibbling on the sandwich you ordered, and finally Shouto spoke up again, going back to the question he had tried to ask earlier.

"Freecss — about the Sport's Festival . . . Why didn't you block? What I did . . . You were really hurt."

You faltered, setting the sandwich down. It's not that you didn't block, so much as you had felt all your energy disappear in a blink of an eye. How did you even explain that, though? If it were Izuku, you could just tell the truth. You couldn't reveal the truth to Shouto, though, no matter how much you wanted to. 

Besides, would he believe you? He already thought you were delusional.

Averting your eyes to gaze out the window, you hummed, pursing your lips. "It's not that I didn't block," you truthfully started. "I meant to dodge, but my quirk backfired on me. I thought I had more time, but I didn't."

"Backfired?"

You paused, thoughtful. You knew quirks certainly had their downsides, but a downside had never been really set for you. Would it be okay to tell the truth, to an extent? There didn't _seem_ to be a problem with that, and after a moment you decided that that would be best. If you kept lying, you were bound to mix up lies and mess up in the future, and that would only cause more grief for Aizawa and the others.

"I mean, everybody else has limits and downsides, right? I may have a simple enhancer quirk, but I can still have backlash, too." Looking down at your hands, you frowned. How did you explain _aura_ and _nen_ in terms that would seem normal in this world? "My quirk is Boost, although you probably know that. While my capabilities in general are 'boosted', I have to meditate and build up "energy" to do what I did against you in the Sport's Festival."

Realization flashed through Shouto's eyes. "You became faster, and healed up right away... That was what it was?"

Nodding once, you continued. "Yeah. The longer I keep it up, though, the harsher the toll on my body. I pushed myself past my point during our fight, and my body had decided that was enough."

Todoroki nodded, slurping his soba noodles. "You should work on that."

_Yeah, no shit._

Instead of responding sardonically, you changed the subject, lips twisting into a frown. "I saw the fights I missed while I was out... You could have won against Katsuki. Why didn't you?"

For a moment, you didn't think he would respond as he just continued to eat, not meeting your eyes. Finally, after swallowing another mouthful of noodles, he responded lowly. "I . . . Didn't want Endeavor to see me use my left side."

He left it at that, and you followed suit, recalling what he had told Izuku at the Sport's Festival. It was hard to emphasize with; you had _never_ had to deal with parental problems. After all, you had to _have_ parents to have problems with them, and Aunt Mito hadn't been strict with you or Gon, as long as the two of you didn't get too hurt or get into trouble.

And while you and Gon were wild children, it wasn't very often that the two of you got into actual trouble.

It wasn't your place to press on, and so you didn't pursue the topic any further, not wanting to make things awkward between you and Shouto. He would tell you when or if he was ready. You didn't want to be _that_ person and nosily pry into his own, private affairs. Even _you_ , who was normally _very_ nosy and curious, understood it just wasn't respectful. Besides, you certainly wouldn't want people asking you about certain aspects of your own life, so it made sense to show that same courtesy.

Finishing your food, you leaned back in your seat, thinking. ". . . What goes on in your life is none of my business," you started carefully, mulling it over. "But . . . I think it's kind of dumb to not use a part of your quirk because of a grudge, or whatever. It's _your_ quirk — nobody else's. I think, by using your quirk for what _you_ want, is probably a better idea."

Seeing Shouto stare at you unblinkingly for a moment made you start to flounder, face warming up. "N-not that I would know, though! I really. . . Can't relate to not _wanting_ to use my quirk. And I'm not going to pretend I know why you won't use your quirk but just. Ugh." Receiving no response had your brain running overtime as you nearly dragged your hands down your face in exasperation. "Shouto . . . You're a good person, and nothing like your asshole dad. I'm rooting for you, okay?"

". . . Thank you, Freecss."

Three words, but coming from Shouto, they sounded so sincere. Immediately you had relaxed, shooting him an uneven smile. "Hey, call me [Y/n]. Seriously, being called 'Freecss' is just too weird for me."

After the two of you had finished eating — Endeavor had finished long before the both of you — it was back to patrolling. Nothing else interesting seemed to be going on in Hosu, which wasn't a _bad_ thing per se, but it was certainly _boring_. Feeling your phone buzz in your pocket, you nearly stumbled in trying to get it out of your jacket pocket. It was from an unknown number — probably Hisoka, knowing him. You opened the message, still trailing after Endeavor.

**To: [Y/n]** **  
From: +81-XX-XXXX-XXXX**

**[5:45 pm]:** If you know what's good for you, I'd highly suggest leaving Hosu, [Y/n].

**To: +81-XX-XXXX-XXXX** **  
From: [Y/n]**

**[5:47 pm]:** lmao who the fuck is this?

Seeing your confused expression, Shouto tilted his head. "What is it?"

He didn't know about Hisoka, so you couldn't suggest him — not that you _would_. Hisoka had an atrocious but recognizable texting style. This was _not_ it. Frowning in thought, you tried to mark other people off your list, but you just couldn't figure out who else it would _be_. 

Showing him the text, you exhaled from your nose. "Not a clue, but that's super cryptic, right? It's not just me?"

Shouto was in agreement, furrowing his eyebrows. "[Y/n]—"

He was cut off, and it happened so quick that you couldn't even allow yourself to get happy that he used your name, because, surprising your ragtag trio, was the fact that an entire building just exploded.


	34. Hero Killer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You and Todoroki receive a distress call from Midoriya and head right on over — unfortunately, it's nothing good.

The day had been going by _so_ peacefully. Yeah, being around Endeavor was somewhat awkward, especially knowing what he had done, but it was tolerable.

Despite the day going by smoothly, you had been prepared for a plethora of scenarios. Hostage situations, robberies, assault, the works. What you had _not_ been prepared for, though, was the act of terrorism that was in the form of a _literal explosion_.

The moment the building exploded, rubble going everywhere, chaos all around you had erupted. Screaming and panic in the streets of Hosu, Endeavor was quick to go into action in helping others and figuring out the issue. He may be a major dick wad, but you were quick to see that he wasn't #2 hero without reason.

"Oh _shit_ , is that a nomu?!"

Sure enough, at your words, all eyes were on the eerie creature, its brain exposed. There was no _way_ that this was all a part of the League of Villains, right?

Who else could be behind this, then? They were the only ones with nomu (that you knew of).

Muttering under your breath, you grumbled, "Well, now I can see why I was told to stay away from Hosu..."

At that moment, your phone had buzzed again, and you pulled it back out, hoping it was the person from before. It wasn't. Instead, a familiar contact name popped up onto your screen with a single message.

**To:** [Y/n]  
 **From:** Future #1

 **[6:44 pm]:** **_[pinned location]_**

Confused, you looked up from your phone, seeing that Shouto had also received a message — also from Izuku, probably. What did that _mean_?

Shouto and you exchanged glances before realization dawned on you both, and Shouto was the first to jump into action. "Endeavor, when you're done here, come to this location."

He had barely shown Endeavor the pinned location before dragging you off, only to be stopped by the #2 hero's yelling.

"Shouto!"

Your friend stopped, looking over his shoulder back at the flaming man.

He nodded once, signaling that he was giving his permission for you two to go.

Well, that was _not_ what you were expecting. Eyes wide as you started to run again, you didn't bring it up. It certainly didn't redeem Endeavor, not one bit, but... Well, at least you didn't have to worry about him trying to stop you guys, not that that would _have_ stopped you if there _was_ trouble.

And _was_ there? That was the big question — you weren't _sure_. Izuku certainly wasn't the type to send his location for no random reason, and the fact that he said nothing else meant it must have been urgent. Besides, you were quick to figure out that Izuku practically _attracted_ trouble. The question was _what_ the trouble was. Deep in your gut, you had a feeling that this was related to you or to at least the _two_ warnings you had now received to stay away from this particular prefecture.

Man, why did everything have to be so complicated? Sure, you liked action, but even _this_ was a bit much — and that's saying something, considering it's, well, _you_.

Nearing the pinned location, you could hear the faint sound of yelling, only spurring you and Shouto to run even faster. Thankfully, you didn't have to wait long to find out what was going on.

Rounding a corner, your breath caught in your throat at the sight before you, and Shouto acted on a split second, fire arching forwards to in retaliation. On top of Tenya, ready to stab down and end his life, was a villainous-looking person you didn't recognize. Somebody with the League of Villains? You weren't sure. Behind them was Izuku, on the ground, and another hero off to the side.

 _Shit._ You didn't want to think about what would have happened if the two of you arrived any later.

The shock was so bad you didn't even have time to react to Shouto's usage of his left side, your face heating up from being in such close proximity of the flames. Immediately, you were in a position ready to fight, your fists in front of you. You didn't make a move yet — you knew nothing about this guy, after all. Besides, as much as you hated being scolded, Kurapika and Hawks had both been right — you were reckless and impulsive. Jumping headfirst into situations could really wind up with your or your friends hurt. Maybe hanging out with Gon and Killua had rubbed off a bit more than you expected, specifically Gon. At least Killua wasn't completely impulsive.

"Midoriya," Shouto started to speak, holding up his phone. "You need to give more details in times like this. You made us late." You were too tense to nod along, your heart a hammer in your chest. This villain... He was bad news. Even _you_ felt anxious, and you had to wonder what exactly you had gotten yourself into. What your _friends_ had gotten into.

Izuku, who was on the ground and struggling to move, looked up at both of you from behind the villain. "T-Todoroki... And [Y/n], too.... W-what are you two doing here? You're even using your left side..."

You snorted at Izuku's question, pursing your lips in a mix of humor and dryness. "We're here because we decided to take a walk through the alleys in a city full of chaos," you responded sarcastically. "Certainly not because of the distress signal you apparently sent to everybody." It seemed even in times of grave peril, your attitude wouldn't diminish. Classic.

Shouto joined you. " _Why_? That's my line. It took me a few seconds to figure it out, but you're not the type to just send your location info for no reason."

With those words, Shouto leapt into action, using his ice to coat the ground towards the villain as he ran over. His ice lifted the three injured people off the ground, and you frowned, unsure of what move you should take. Sure, your _nen_ was back, but just barely. Whatever that stupid voice inside your head had done, there were still lingering effects of being separated from your actual _nen_ for so long. Mainly, exhaustion and the knowledge you couldn't fight at your absolute best.

 _I didn't have time to meditate for my_ hatsu, you thought, unsure. _This time, too, I'll have to rely on my regular physical abilities instead of_ nen _. . ._ You couldn't just stand back, though. If one of them got hurt due to your inactivity... You'd never forgive yourself.

First things first, you had to get the others out of Shouto's firing range. For whatever reason, Izuku, Tenya, and the other hero were completely immobile, and as they slid down Shouto's ice towards you, you made quick work in lessening their fall and helping them to the side.

Ignoring Shouto's talk about how the pros would show up soon, you dragged Izuku to the wall, propping him up, and then doing the same for Tenya and the other hero.

"Who _is_ this guy?" you muttered, and Izuku furrowed his eyebrows.

"That's Stain. Th-the Hero Killer."

You recognized that name from a brief passing of conversation, and suddenly the predicament made more sense as you started to piece things together. Tenya, whose brother had been paralyzed from Stain, probably heard the commotion and intervened — and didn't do too well, by the look of it. Izuku must have caught wind somehow, found them, and sent out the location ping.

Thinning your lips, you stayed crouched by Izuku, and he shot you a concerned glance. "[Y/n], don't worry about us," he told you. "Help Todoroki until the pros arrive."

If only it were that easy. You didn't want to risk Stain overhearing you, or even Tenya for that matter. You spoke low enough to where only Izuku could hear, your voice terse. "My _nen_... My training over-exhausted it. Right now, I can barely use it without it probably having a bad repercussion to my body," you said regretfully. You couldn't help the self-deprecating laugh that came from your throat as you stood up. In a change of moods so quickly, you shot the three an unwavering grin, ignoring the look of alarm on Izuku's face.

"Don't fear! A hero never gives up and always does her best to save others after all, right? You three are safe now."

Your words caught the attention of Stain, who regarded you strangely, but before he could speak — and he was opening his mouth like he was going to — Shouto piped up first. "We won't let you kill these three, Hero Killer."

Izuku was struggling behind you two the most, clearly wanting to get up and move. Just what was Stain's quirk to make them not be able to move? Izuku had the answers, apparently.

"Don't let him see your blood!" he shouted from behind. "I think... I think he controls his opponents' by ingesting their blood orally."

Ingesting... orally... You nearly gagged at the thought. This guy was licking people's blood?! Weren't there, like, a myriad of diseases that he could get? What if somebody had HIV or hepatitis? You made a face and felt nauseous for a moment.

"That's really fucking gross."

Shouto was thoughtful. "That's what those blades are for, huh...? Freecss, you should stay back. You're close combat, but I can keep my distance and — _shoot!_ "

Stain had enough of the talking, it seemed, as a knife flew forward, slicing Shouto's cheek. Without a moment of hesitation your hand had shot out and snatched it out of air. The blade bit into your palm, and you cursed your foolishness as you felt the sting of metal on skin, but you had no time to react. Stain was leaping forward, more likely than not to taste Shouto's blood. Wiping the blade on your white jacket quickly (you were _not_ stupid enough to throw this back with your blood all over it), you threw it back at Stain with a force that made you feel proud. Having to dodge Shouto's flames and the blade at the same time was difficult, and you were proud to see that you had managed to return the favor, slicing the outside of his right bicep as the blade disappeared into the dark.

Clenching your fist shut, you tried to ignore the sting in your palm. "What were you saying about distance, Shouto?" You asked in a half-joking, half-wry tone of voice. He had no time to respond, and you had no time to say anything else. Stain was a man of few words but of a lot of action. Shouto had brought up an ice wall, most likely to give you two a brief reprieve, but Stain was quick and had jumped up and brought out a sword, effectively slicing the tip off.

Shouto brought out more ice, and you took a step back, not sure how you could contribute to the fight right now. Even without _nen_ , you were an excellent fighter, but you also didn't want to put yourself in range of Shouto's quirk or Stain's swords. You felt kind of useless right now.

Hearing Tenya speak, you crouched down. "Why are you all fighting...? I've inherited my brother's name. I have to do it..." You saw the rage on his face, an expression so unlike Tenya that you faltered. "That guy's mine...!"

Shouto spoke up, a trail of glittering ice in front of him — it would be gorgeous if the circumstances were any different.

"You inherited it? That's strange." If you weren't mistaken, was that _sarcasm_ you detected in Shouto's voice? "The Ingenium I saw before never had that look on his face. I guess your family also has a lot going on behind the scenes, huh?"

Seeing how nobody was focused on you for a moment, you brought out your own cell phone, looking through your contacts. Thankfully, you had been smart enough to save Kurapika's number before leaving today, and from what you could tell, Kurapika was already doing much better in this world in terms of learning the language. 

Unfortunately, unlike Izuku, you had _no_ clue how to send your location, and you did _not_ have the time to fiddle around with your phone and figure it out. Instead, you hastily typed up a text, ignoring the typos and errors so you could get the message out quickly.

**To:** Cutie-Pika  
 **From:** [Y/n]

 **[7:08 pm]:** send help or come i still can't use brn we're in an alleyway in hosu awy from the chaos idk how 2 send location. pls comw quicly

Just as you had pressed the 'send' button, a knife flew down and sliced your cheek before piercing straight into your hand. Dropping the phone clumsily as the screen shattered upon impact, you screeched out in pain and looked up to see that Stain was above both you and Shouto, with two knives in his arm.

"Above you!"

You didn't have any time to react.

Thankfully, you didn't have to.

Shooting above both you and Shouto was Izuku, apparently getting the ability to move again as he advanced on Stain, grabbing and dragging him along the wall. You and Shouto were thinking the same thing as both of you spoke aloud at the same time.

"A time limit . . . ?"

The hero beside Shouto, the one who you didn't know, spoke up, although his voice was strained. "No... That kid should've been the last one he got. I can't move yet..." You only half-listened, focused on the knife stuck in your hand. You could see the tip come out the other side, just barely, and you bit your lip to keep the stream of swears inside. You were going to have to pull it out. _Fuck_.

Afraid to even touch the knife, you painfully mused. "Maybe it's the amount of blood ingested...?" That didn't seem right, but either way, Stain was alarmed as him and Izuku both hit the ground, with the latter rolling slightly.

"Midoriya, out of the way!"

Jerking your head up at the shout, you saw Izuku roll to the side as Shouto sent out another blast of ice. Your green-haired friend made haste to get over to you two, not quite yet noticing your painful problem you were trying to deal with.

"He ingests blood to keep his opponents from moving," Izuku muttered, staring over at Stain. You followed his gaze, your uninjured hand still hovering over the knife. "I can think of three reasons... Either it becomes less effective with more people, the amount ingested affects how long it works, or... There could be effectiveness based on blood type!"

Your eyebrows shot up at that last one, and you watched as Stain's scowl deepened. Sometimes you forgot just how smart Izuku was . . !

The mystery hero hummed. "Blood type... Mine's B..." Tenya chipped in, his being A.

You didn't know your own blood type, and hopefully wouldn't have to find out this way. Either way, it seemed like Izuku's hypothesis was correct, and Stain said as much.

Izuku was still crouching by you, although he looked more lost in thought than ever. "I can't really do anything by knowing his quirk, though..."

As Shouto and Izuku conversed, you put your focus back onto your hand, gripping the handle. Tenya was the only one who seemed to notice what you were doing, and grimaced.

"Freecss, that blade is serrated, you really shouldn't—!"

You didn't give him enough time to finish his sentence. Figuring it was best to do it quick as if you were ripping off a band-aid, you ripped the knife out of your hand. You couldn't stop the screech of pain that left you, or the flurry of swear words that left your mouth as you tossed the knife aside. It was bleeding _bad_ , and ignoring the look of horror that you seemed to get from both all three of your friends, you quickly ripped the sleeve of your jacket off, gritting your teeth. You couldn't just heal it — you probably had enough _nen_ to do only that, but you knew it would be wise to conserve. You'd just have to do it the old-fashioned way.

Biting the inside of your cheek so hard it drew blood, you waved them off. "I'll be fine," you managed to get out through gritted teeth. "I can still fight." Despite your words, your vision was white for a moment, the pain hard to ignore.

With the ripped cloth, you tightly wrapped it around your hand as some sort of makeshift bandage, using your teeth to help tie it into place. Izuku looked at both you and Shouto, both of you injured.

"You two both have lost a lot of blood... [Y/n], you should sit this out. I'll distract him, and Shouto can support from behind!" You would have been angrier, but it was a serious situation. You could only watch on the ground as purple markings covered Izuku, and he was once again enveloped in that green lightning.

 _As annoyed as I am... That_ is _pretty cool_ , you couldn't help but think as Izuku stood up.

Shouto glanced at Izuku, and then you, his eyebrows furrowed. "That's a pretty big risk..." he noted. "But yeah. The two of us will have to protect them."

Not wanting to be left out, and knowing you could still offer some support, you stood up, trying to ignore the white-hot pain in your right hand. Was it good or bad that it was starting to grow numb? Did you tie the tourniquet too tight? 

"Don't leave me out. This guy is insane — you two are going to need all the help you can get."

For a moment, you thought either one of them would protest — thankfully, they didn't. As much as you did, Shouto and Izuku realized that this was a severe life-or-death situation. Until the pros could arrive, or your own form of backup, you all would need as much manpower as you could get to stave Stain off. And even then...

This guy was a whole other level than the people at USJ. If possible... You'd compare him to levels at the Phantom Troupe from what you've seen and felt so far, and if that was the case... You three against him was _still_ pushing it into dangerous territory.

The three of you facing Stain, he regarded you all coolly. "Three against one, huh..? It won't be easy..."

 _No_ , you thought grimly. _It certainly won't be._

And with that morbid thought, the battle continued.


	35. S.O.S.

"We are _way_ outclassed," you huffed, narrowing your eyes in irritation. Stain was proving a formidable foe, even against all three of you at once. You just hoped that Kurapika had gotten your text, and that either the pro-heroes or himself were on their way here. You weren't sure how long you could hold out against Stain.

Izuku and Shouto were tense beside you, and your mind raced. You couldn't activate your _hatsu_ — sitting down to meditate even for a minute was practically suicide, and you weren't going to ask Izuku or Shouto to protect you while you did so. Still — you were an _enhancer_. You just had to think of how to use it creatively.

Weirdly enough, your mind went back to the Sport's Festival, when Izuku and Shouto faced off against each other. You and Izuku had similar abilities, although you couldn't get that cool ass lightning around you. Still, both of you had enhancer-type abilities...

Your eyebrows shot up in realization. "I have a plan," you told them, bending backwards to narrowly dodge a knife. "But I only have enough energy to use my quirk once."

Shouto furrowed his brows, sparing a glance at you. "What do we need to do?"

More than ever, you loved your friends. No questions, no protests — just complete trust. You grinned.

"Distract him with ice."

As Shouto sent column after column towards Stain, you stepped in front of Izuku, and excited grin crossing your face. This was _really_ gonna hurt, considering both of your hands were injured, but you guys needed to get this over with soon, and anyways... If this worked, it certainly opened a whole world of possibilities for you.

Feeling the last of your _nen_ gather in your less-injured hand, you clenched it into a fist. "This better work!"

And with that, just as Stain landed back on the ground, you thrust your fist forward into the air.

It worked better than expected.

With the pressure of your _nen_ contacting the air, a large gust of air was thrust towards Stain, giving the villain no time to dodge as it swept him backwards. Falling backwards, Stain was dragged across the gravely alleyway before the wind dissipated, and Izuku let out an awed exclamation. Leaning against the wall, you felt exhaustion wash over you again.

"Shit... Even that was... a lot...."

For a moment, Stain didn't move, and you had willed yourself to believe that you had done it, had taken him out. After a couple silent moments though, Stain slowly rose to a stand, eerily not using his arms at all. You winced, both at the failure and at his face, which had taken the brunt of your attack. The entire right side was raw and bloody, having been skinned when he was dragged across the pavement. That had to hurt like a _bitch_.

You didn't have time to push yourself off the wall, barely enough time to dodge, as Stain launched himself wordlessly at you. You rolled along the wall in a failed attempt to get away, but your energy was lacking, and you felt the bite of steel slice along your left arm. He didn't waste any time, leaping back and sliding his tongue along the blade, taking in your blood.

Collapsing in a heap, you grimaced as a strange paralysis took over your body, wincing at the cut that Stain had managed to inflict. It wasn't deep — shallow, thankfully. However, both of your hands were injured to a degree, so you _really_ didn't need to be losing any more blood. This wasn't to mention that you were now officially unable to use _nen_ for a bit without risking passing out, so healing yourself was definitely out of the question.

Hearing your friends call your name, you winced. You _hated_ this feeling — you couldn't move at all, save for your facial expressions. And not knowing your blood type, either... What if you had the longest wait time?!

Izuku shot forward, bouncing between the two walls, but Stain was faster. Soon enough, Izuku was crumpled up next to you, unable to move as he slumped against the wall.

"Fancy seeing you here," you tried to weakly joke, but then grimaced again at the bad timing. "This guy... He's _definitely_ way out of our league."

Izuku gritted his teeth. "Maybe, but . . . We just have to hold out until the heroes arrive."

Was it really that easy, though?

Heat hitting your face in blasts, you could do nothing but watch in despair as Stain closed in on Shouto, dodging the flames from left and right.

"I'd like to see you dodge this!" Shouto yelled, a burst of ice going straight to Stain — who, ironically, dodged it. His sword was poised and ready as Shouto let out another wave of flames, but it was too late. Your eyes widened in horror as the sword neared Shouto's arm pit, ready to claim its prize.

_Oh god... He's going to cut straight through Shouto's arm!_

You didn't want to watch, didn't want to see it happen, but like with most grotesque scenes you couldn't find the will to tear your eyes from it. You willed your body to move, cried out for it to, but to no avail.

You and Izuku both cried out, tears welling up in your eyes at both your own helplessness and what was about to happen.

Except....

It didn't.

In a surprising burst, Tenya had stood up and used his Recipro Burst to propel himself forward, helping Shouto out and driving Stain back. You let out a hard whoosh of air, not realizing that you had been holding your breath until now.

Tenya slumped slightly, trying to get his breath. "Freecss, Midoriya, Todoroki. This has nothing to do with you three, and I apologize. That's why I cannot allow you three to bleed any more than this!"

Stain glowered at Tenya, holding his now-broken sword. You didn't notice, but somehow Tenya had gotten a good hit on him, blood dripping from Stain's hand. _Karma's a bitch for doing that to my hand,_ you couldn't help but think. His cut didn't seem bad, but it was hard to ignore the intense pain in both of your palms, especially now that you couldn't move.

"Don't try to be reformed now. You'll always just be a fake who prioritizes his own selfish desires," Stain gritted out, free hand clenching. "You're just a cancer to a society that warps the idea of heroes, and somebody must set you straight."

You scowled at Stain, your eyes narrowing. "That's _rich_ , coming from the guy attacking and killing people for trying to help others," you shouted, clearly struggling and trying to stand up to no avail.

Shouto joined in, his expression grim. "You're an anachronistic fundamentalist. Iida, don't listen to the logic of a murderer."

You did _not_ get that first part at all, your brain not really understanding those words, but you got the gist of it. He was an asshole.

"He's right," Tenya countered, looking down. "I have no right to call myself a hero, but even so... I cannot give in."

"BullSHIT," you called out. "Everybody makes mistakes — you have ways to go, but you _are_ a hero, Tenya! You fight for what you believe in, not to mention you risked your life during USJ to escape and get help. You _are_ a hero!"

Stain had enough. "He'll never be a hero." With that said, he sprung forward again, Shouto acting immediately with his flames, alternating between that and ice. There was a different edge to his movements now, and you dared to hope that if the four of you work together, you'd be able to take on Stain evenly.

As if wanting to prove you wrong, Stain threw a knife at Tenya, lodging it in between the armor before throwing another one and catching his wrist. Izuku tumbled forward in sync with Tenya as he fell, and you grimaced. You still couldn't move, and it wasn't for lack of trying.

"Izuku... Go...!" 

You could tell he was struggling, but he had managed to stand up the telltale sign of him activating his quirk appearing. God, you wished you could do something — _anything_!

"I can do this..." Izuku mumbled, and you watched as he lurched forward and up towards Stain, just as Tenya launched up himself. With the frontal and side assault, Stain had no time to dodge as they both hit him at once, sending him flying up. And even more shockingly, he was _still_ in commission.

As Shouto started to utilize his flames again, Stain flipped and managed to grab his sword while still falling in the air, swinging blindly at Tenya and just barely missing. A mistake — it allowed an opening for Tenya to swing his other leg upwards and hit Stain again, right before Shouto got him with his flames.

If Stain was still standing after this, you were going to be extremely concerned.

Making another ice ramp to catch Izuku and Tenya, you were relieved to see that Stain was unmoving. Just in time, too, as your hands both twitched. _Another minute and I should be able to move._

"[Y/n], you've lost a lot of blood . . . Will you be alright?" Izuku was glancing back at you, face pale. You tried to nod, before remembering your predicament and giving him a weak smile.

"I've definitely — I've definitely been through worse."

Before anybody else could say anything or start searching for restraints for Stain, you saw a familiar black warp gate start to form, and you let out a shout. "Guys! It's —"

You didn't have to finish your sentence as the three boys gaped over at the warp gate. Shit! And you _still_ couldn't move!

Seeing a shoe appear first, you stiffened, eyes widening and face paling as a single person stepped from the gate. And oh, did you regret everything that lead you to this point right now, because standing before you...

Well, let's just say things got a _lot_ more complicated.

* * *

Kurapika was a worried mess. Confined to a single floor in Hawks' building, he could do nothing but pace around as the news played over the T.V. Screw waiting. He hadn't heard back from Hawks or [Y/n], and he had a strong feeling that the League of Villains was behind this. And where the League was...

Yeah, he had to get to Hosu.

The blond, pacing furiously, recalled back to his conversation with [Y/n] earlier as she had complained.

 _"I know it's childish, but after being told to stay away from Hosu, I just_ had _to come! Ya know?"_

Hosu . . . Hosu . . .

 _Shit_.

Just as he had started to gather a wad of cash and make sure he had his phone, the piece of technology buzzed in his hands, indicating a text. Upon seeing the contact name (which you had apparently changed in his phone sometime within the past few days), he had relaxed. The relaxation wasn't long, though, as he read the text, growing tenser than he had been previously.

**To:** Kurapika  
 **From:** [N/n] is the best! <3

 **[7:08 pm]:** send help or come i still can't use brn we're in an alleyway in hosu awy from the chaos idk how 2 send location. pls comw quicly

Only [Y/n] would manage to land herself in trouble, although this time it wasn't entirely her fault. Hisoka had warned her to not go to Hosu — wait, did he have something to do with this? It wasn't out of the question, considering the jester's lack of morals.

Kurapika had to act fast. [Y/n] was rarely one to genuinely panic. As infuriating as it was, the [h/c] girl had a tendency to think she could take everybody on, much like Gon. Of course, despite the berating him and Hawks had given her, that stubbornness and constant hope is what made her an amazing hunter and hero. Rushing out was not smart though, especially since Kurapika didn't have an actual location. Instead, he rustled through the few belongings he had, finding a map of the nearby prefectures, immediately spotting Hosu. Hovering his hand over it, he had summoned his Dowsing Chain, closing his eyes as he felt the pendulum gently swing back and forth.

"[Y/n] . . ."

After a couple of moments, Kurapika felt the pendulum stop and allowed himself to open his eyes and finally look back down, quickly noting where it had stopped. That was all he needed before leaving Hawks' building, all thoughts of staying out of the public eye vanishing from his head.

Sprinting into the streets, Kurapika used _nen_ to run as fast as he could through the streets of Shinjuku. Knowing that the trains were probably stopped, and that hailing a taxi to go _towards_ the chaos would be impossible, it was the Kurta's only option. 

Kurapika was quick to arrive in Hosu, and having memorized the map and the location his Dowsing Chain had pointed out, he wasted no time in heading towards one of the many alley ways. All around him was fire, screaming, and disarray. The heroes nearby certainly had their own problems to deal with, but that was fine. Kurapika wouldn't have anybody else get involved in this.

After only a couple moments of running, Kurapika had picked up different sounds that contrasted the city's atmosphere. There was fighting, yes, but the rhythm of this fight sounded different, not to mention it was paired with much younger voices yelling.

"Get away from [Y/n]!"

Kurapika didn't recognize the voice — what he _did_ recognize was the name. Spurred on by the voice, Kurapika sharply turned a corner, immediately shooting a chain upon sight of the figure standing over [Y/n]. The chain was dodged, shooting into the wall behind the man and crumbling the brick around — Kurapika was quick to retract the chain back to himself.

Of course, the person who had given the first warning to [Y/n] to stay away from Hosu, knowing [Y/n] would specifically _ignore_ the warning, given the type of person she was.

"I knew something was up with you . . . Hisoka."


	36. Higher Ground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kurapika arrives in the nick of time to ward off Hisoka. Soon after, other pro-heroes arrive at the scene.

_A bit earlier...._

You struggled to sit up as the feeling came back to your limbs. "Hisoka... You're with the League?!"

You shouldn't have been surprised — not one bit. The jester before you was a pro at playing both sides, something you should have learned from time and time again. He was only interested in his entertainment. Betrayal? Not a word in Hisoka's vocabulary, considering his only loyalties were ever to himself.

You heard Izuku gasp from behind you, recognizing the man in an instant. "It's him from before...!"

Poor Shouto, Tenya, and the other hero were all left confused. "You two know this villain?" Shouto questioned, his gaze hardening on Hisoka. You didn't bother to correct him — if Hisoka was now in league with the League, he _was_ a villain. Shit, you should have seen this coming, you felt so stupid right now!

"Now you see," Hisoka started, twirling a card lazily between his fingers. You forced yourself to stand, leaning against the wall for support. "You're a valuable toy, but in order for Chrollo's _nen_ to be exorcised, I have to deliver you to the League of Villains," he said, amusement glinting in his golden eyes. You wanted to punch that smirk off his face.

"So, what?" You asked hoarsely, warily eyeing the warp gate that still lingered behind Hisoka. "You gonna ditch me with those assholes?"

The clown shrugged. "You'll be fine. You've certainly gone through worse, and _oh_ do I want to fight Chrollo." Hisoka groaned, swiping a hand down his face in a manner that made you shudder.

You saw Shouto move forward from your peripheral vision. "As if we'll let you take her."

Grimacing, you tried to keep any fear you felt off your face. The four of you together barely handled Stain. Even in peak condition, you knew that the four of you stood no chance against Hisoka, let alone all four of you currently being injured. You wryly thought to the text you sent.

 _If Kurapika or somebody else doesn't get here soon, I'm going to be_ majorly _screwed. Shit._

"I'm not going along with you," you gritted out, finally able to stand without the support of the alley wall. You swayed a bit, but were otherwise stable. "You'll have to take me by force."

Hisoka started to chuckle, his grin widening into something sadistic. "I was hoping you'd say that."

Your friends had enough waiting around. Shouto, without any hesitation, sent a large pillar of ice towards Hisoka, the latter nimbly jumping out of the way. "Iida, hurry up and tie up the Hero Killer. We'll take care of this clown."

You weren't sure if Shouto meant that as an insult or perhaps the literal sense, but found yourself smiling dryly nonetheless. "Don't leave me out. This is my battle, after all, and I feel bad about getting you two involved in this."

Izuku shot you a determined look, standing by your side. "Now you're sounding like Iida... This is what heroes do!"

You nodded, before a wave of dizziness washed over you. "On second thought... I'm not sure how long I can stay standing. Whatever you do . . . Do _not_ let Hisoka touch you."

Stepping in front of you, and briefly massaging his arm, Izuku nodded. "Just sit this one out, [Y/n]. The pro heroes should be here soon!"

Gracefully landing a bit of ways back, Hisoka sighed. "As much as I'd _love_ to play with you all, I'm afraid we _do_ have a time crunch. I'm sure you all understand, right~?" Three cards appeared in between his fingers before he threw them all at you. You and Izuku were forced to dive in opposite directions, and Shouto had brought up an ice wall to shield himself. It did nothing against Hisoka's _nen_ -enhanced playing card though, and in an instant the ice shattered, catching the top of Shouto's shoulder.

In instant, Hisoka was in between you and Izuku, placing a foot on your stomach and preventing you from getting up.

"Get away from [Y/n]!" Izuku shouted, struggling to get up. It seemed like something was holding him down to the ground, and it didn't take you long to put two and two together.

"Don't bother trying to move," he told Izuku, the Cheshire-like grin still on his face. "My aura has both the qualities of gum _and_ rubber. You won't be able to get it off unless I want it to."

Of course. Of fucking _course_.

Hearing footsteps, you weren't in a position to see who the newcomer was as chains shot forward to Hisoka, small rocks hitting your face from the impact. Another card appeared in Hisoka's hand; however, even if you were unable to see, the recognizable voice and the chains made you feel more confident, now.

"I knew something was up with you . . . Hisoka."

You could have slumped in relief if you weren't pinned to the ground. "Kurapika, he's with Chrollo and the League!"

Your friends were clearly confused by the newcomer, but sensed that he wasn't a bad guy as Kurapika readied his chains again. Behind his contacts, you could probably imagine his eyes a scarlet red by now.

The man above you sighed, turning his head slightly to glance behind him. "It seems like we're going to have more company in a moment. I'll leave now, but I'm sure I'll see you all _real_ soon~." With that, Hisoka took his heeled foot off you, stepping back before allowing himself to be enveloped in the warp gate. As soon as it was gone, Kurapika was at your side, Izuku getting up too.

"Wh-who are you . . . ?"

You waved a hand weakly, giving Izuku a thumbs up. "He's an old friend from back home . . ."

The pro hero from before was able to stand up at last, going over to help Izuku stand before carrying him. "Your legs are injured, right? It's the least I can do," he said.

"Thanks, Native . . ."

Finally, you got a name to his face.

Joining your groups was Tenya and Shouto, with Shouto dragging along Stain's unconscious body with a rope. It seems like Tenya had been able to find rope after all, and you finally allowed yourself to relax in relief. Kurapika didn't share your thoughts, checking over you worriedly.

"Did Hisoka — did he—?"

You grimaced and shook your head. "No, most of this is from the Hero Killer over there." You struggled to sit up, leaning against the wall. "But we... We managed." 

Kurapika let out a sigh of relief, crouching down and throwing your arm around his shoulder as he helped you stand up. As soon as you were on your legs, it became abundantly clear that you could _not_ support yourself. You felt faint and dizzy; you had certainly lost a lot of blood.

"An ambulance is coming — you'll be okay. Just stay awake." You nodded, and upon realizing that you weren't going to be able to walk even _with_ Kurapika's support, he set you against the wall. "Here, I'll carry you."

With your friend's help, you were hoisted on his back, and he walked out of the alley as more heroes came, one of them scolding Izuku. Your gaze drifted over to Shouto and Tenya, appraising their injuries. Nobody made out of this fight unscathed, but it seemed like you were all mostly okay. Resting your head on Kurapika's shoulder, your eyes started to close... Only for Kurapika to deny you sleep.

"Don't fall asleep on me, okay? Just stay awake."

You scowled. "I'm not going to die, I'm just super fucking tired. I'll be fine."

Before Kurapika could respond, probably to tell you that you might have a concussion or something, a new voice spoke up. "What are you all doing?! It's right there!"

Overhead, a nomu started to swoop down, and you looked on in confusion, noting that this one seemed somewhat different. _Are there more than one of those things???_

Nobody had time to react as the nomu dived down, snatching Izuku up as if he were a sack of feathers. You gripped hard onto Kurapika's shoulders. No.... _No!_

In an instant, Stain had leapt up, his bindings falling to the ground as he attacked — and it seemed killed — the nomu, the three crashing down. You pushed yourself off Kurapika's back, your feet colliding harshly with the ground. The moment your feet touched the pavement, your legs buckled underneath you, your knees harshly hitting the concrete. Kurapika was quick to help you up, having you lean on him — it was clear he wanted to reprimand you for not resting, but he chose not to. 

"Izuku...!" You shouted, more than anything mad at your inability to do anything. Stain stood up, his eyes zeroing in on Endeavor as he took a step forward. He was speaking, but you weren't paying attention. You were only focused on Izuku, who was on the ground behind Stain.

"I will purge... All of these heroes...!"

The aura coming off Stain was something else. Hisoka's, Illumi's, The Phantom Troupe's... They all had scary auras, but the one Stain had couldn't compare. His was pure malice, only one intent behind it, and you felt your body grow cold for a moment. You couldn't be discouraged, couldn't be scared...!

You took a step forward, Kurapika's grip on your shoulder tightening. You were ready to fight even though you were severely injured, and that seemed to break the spell of those around you. Stain had frozen, his eyes rolling back, and everybody started to move again.

"He's unconscious...?"

You let out a heavy whoosh of breath, the tension leaving your body as you leaned back against Kurapika, your back against his chest. "[Y/n], where's Hawks?"

Oh yeah, you had forgotten about that. Looking up as you leaned your head into his chest, you gave an annoyed look. It wasn't something you wanted to talk about, certainly not now. You were still _livid_ at the abandonment, and besides, you had better things to worry about. Not saying anything, you turned to Tenya, who seemed to be analyzing everybody's injuries.

"Todoroki, Freecss, Midoriya... I'm terribly sorry you all got involved!"

You gave Tenya a tired smile, flashing a peace sign as well. "What kind of friends would we be if we had left you there? I've always got your back here."

The blue-haired teen gave you a wobbly smile, and you relaxed, glad to see that he wasn't truly upset at you all for interfering with his ill-planned revenge.

The events of everything were finally getting to you and you collapsed into a messy sitting position on the ground, groaning in exasperation. "Is the ambulance going to be here soon? I may not be able to feel my hand anymore, but it doesn't take an expert to know that I need stitches."

Sure enough, a few moments later the ambulance had pulled up and you and the other three were loaded into the back. Kurapika was upset he couldn't ride with you, but understood and promised to find Hawks and meet you at the hospital as you all were taken away.

The rest was a blur, up until you were put into the recovery room with the others to await police questioning. The damage to your hand... It wasn't completely irreparable, but without your _nen_ to heal it up, there was only so much they could do. You had been put under and had stitches on both hands. The hand that the knife went straight through would possibly have nerve damage for the rest of your life if your _nen_ couldn't do anything about it. You might never have feeling in the center of it, but it could be worse. At least you still _had_ your hand. And honestly, after seeing Stain in action... Well, it was a miracle that your hand was the worst of your injuries.

The next morning came quickly, and you were glad to see you hadn't slept too far in as everybody else was getting out of bed.

"Were you able to sleep?" Tenya asked Midoriya, who shook his hand.

"No..."

Shouto pitched in, "I wasn't able to either."

This was kind of awkward. Were you the only one who was knocked out cold? Scratching the side of your cheek, you gave them a sheepish smile. "I slept amazingly, to be honest. That was one hell of a workout."

Throwing what seemed to be an amused smile your way, Shouto hummed. "We could tell. You snore a lot."

"H-hey!"

Izuku was looking at you all fondly, a sad smile on his face. "It's really a miracle we all made it out... We did something amazing last night." The room grew quiet, everybody contemplative over the hero killer and Hisoka's true nature. Your face grew grim.

"With my leg like this... He could have killed me if he really wanted to."

You thought back to your clashes with Stain, Shouto speaking up as well. "He seemed to leave us alive for a reason..."

You didn't want to dwell on that. The four of you _barely_ scraped by. And that was him _not_ trying?!

Interrupting the conversation, three people appeared in the doorway. One was the old man who was scolding Izuku from the night before, one was a strange guy you had never seen, and the other...

"Kurapika!"

You jumped off the bed, surprising the blond with a hug as he steadied you. "I see you're doing a lot better," he commented wryly, shaking his head. You grinned cheekily, pulling back but still holding onto his arms.

"Not as well as I want to be." Your voice came out somewhat bitter despite the smile. You barely had a glimmer of _nen_ — your supply was exhausted and would take a few days before you could attempt to heal yourself. Unlike before, when your aura nodes had been closed and just needed to be opened again, you truly were out of _nen_ for the time being. You kind of missed Bisky in this scenario — her _hatsu_ always made you feel refreshed and ready to go when you expended your aura. Now, you had to rest the old-fashioned way.

The old man, whom Izuku had called Gran Torino, looked at you and Kurapika. "You guys can visit later. We have a visitor, after all."

Kurapika helped you back to the bed to sit as a man with the head of a dog walked in. At this point, you were growing immune to these weird quirks in this world, but Kurapika still looked a bit troubled with the man's appearance.

"This is Hosu's chief of police, Kenji Tsurugamae."

The man spoke up, his voice somewhat curious. "You must be the U.A. students that took down the Hero Killer, right?" You stayed silent, tilting your head as Izuku spoke up for you all. Were you guys going to get arrested? After all, it was pretty illegal to use quirks without a license.... "Regarding the Hero Killer that we arrested.... He had fairly serious injuries, with burns and broken bones, and is receiving treatment under strict guard, woof."

You gritted your teeth, biting the inside of your cheek. _Don't say anything. Don't say anything._ You knew it was law in this world, but Stain deserved to die. You were against his treatment — it was just a sign of your progress that you were able to hold your tongue and stay silent. It didn't stop Kurapika from sending you a warning glance, though.

Kenji continued. "Since you are U.A. students, I'm sure you know that when superpowers were still becoming the norm, the police attached high importance to leadership and standards to make sure quirks were not used as weapons. And then. . . The profession 'hero' emerged to fill that gap, woof.

"For an individual's use of force and power that can easily kill others — actions that we normally frown upon — to be accepted officially is thanks to early heroes who followed the ethics and rules of the profession, woof. Even up against the Hero Killer, for uncertified individuals to cause injury with their quirks without specific instruction from their guardians or supervisors is a clear violation of the rules. The four of you, and the pro-heroes Manual, Endeavor, Gran Torino, and Hawks, must receive strict punishment."

You stood up, ignoring any pain you felt. Kurapika was quick to place a hand on your shoulder, warning you to stay quiet. Thankfully, you didn't need to speak up — Shouto was quick to jump to your guys' defense as well, just as outraged as you.

"If Iida hadn't done anything, Native would have been killed. If Midoriya hadn't come, they both would have been killed. No one realized that the Hero Killer had appeared. Are you saying we should have followed the rules and watched people get killed?"

Shouto took a step forward, and now you had the new worry that the teen was going to try and take the police officer on.

"Shouto..." You sent him a warning glance of your own, pleading for him to calm down. Hypocritical, considering how worked up you had been.

Kenji met his gaze evenly. "Are you saying that as long as it turns out alright, it's okay to bend the rules?" Honestly, that _was_ your philosophy, but you had a feeling that telling Kenji that would be the wrong move. You harshly bit the inside of your cheek, and it took all you had to not speak out against the police officer.

Shouto had no kind of qualms about speaking his mind, his anger easily showing. "Isn't it a hero's job to save people?!"

"And that is why you are not a full-fledged hero yet. Goodness, what are you being taught by U.A. and Endeavor, woof?"

"You dog!"

Shouto started to storm forward and you stepped in front of him, wincing slightly as the fast movement caused discomfort throughout your body. "Shouto, it's not worth it."

Your eyes met his heterochromatic ones, and you held his gaze with a fierce determination. Shouto met your gaze just as fiercely, but you could see his face soften up just a bit.

From behind, Gran Torino spoke up. "Let him finish speaking," he ordered, giving Kenji the cue to continue talking.

"That was the official opinion of the police," Kenji started, "And the punishment and such would only happen if this were all made public, woof. If this were made public, you'd probably be applauded by the public, but punishment would be unavoidable. On the other hand, and this is a bit underhanded, but if it is not made public, the burn scars would support Endeavor being the hero who saved the day and it would end there, woof."

You turned back to face Kenji, your face serious and contemplative. Give all the credit to _that_ asshole? You doubted Shouto in particular appreciated it, but what other options did you all have? You glanced over to Kurapika, hoping he would give some sort of insight on what you should do, and he nodded slightly.

So that meant you should probably back down and take the deal. 

After everything was done and settled, the pros left, leaving the four of you and Kurapika. Izuku was quick to leave the room to call Ochaco, and you glanced at the other two. "I'll be right back," you told them, leaving the room with Kurapika.

The two of you walked a bit down the hall so you both had more privacy, and it wasn't until you reached the end that you spoke up, your voice coming out much more bitter than you had initially intended. "So where's Hawks? He couldn't be bothered to come to the hospital and give me a lecture of his own?"

Kurapika looked tired and ran a hand through his hair. "He would have been here if he could, but there was a bit of a situation that he had to deal with back at headquarters."

You were still disgruntled but didn't say more on the topic. Instead, your mind shifted to last night. "So Hisoka..."

Kurapika scowled, his face hardening. "I should have expected he would do that. Now it's more important than ever to keep you safe, though, if the League of Villains really wants you."

 _If the League of Villains really wants you..._ Your usual bravado faltered, showing complete vulnerability as you looked up at your friend.

". . . Why me?"

Your question surprised the blond, and his scowled softened into a thoughtful frown. "I don't know," he admitted. "But they won't get a hold of you."

If you were honest, you weren't even sure about that at this point. Shaking your head ruefully, you didn't voice your worries to Kurapika, instead letting out a small sigh. ". . . I better head back to the room until I get discharged."

Before you could turn around, Kurapika had stepped forward, enveloping you in a surprising hug. You were stiff at first, not used to _Kurapika_ of all people to show any form of affection, but then hugged him back tightly. " _I_ won't let them get to you. I'll get you back to our world, [Y/n]."

Your eyes teared up and you quickly pulled away to wipe furiously at your eyes. "Yeah. Yeah, we'll get back. I know we will." With that said, you turned around and walked back to the hospital room, all the while ignoring the pounding in your chest.


	37. Anthology — 11-15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A collection of scenes from before the events of Reason when you were back in your home world.
> 
> [11] — You and Killua clash for Gon's attention.  
> [12] — You encounter a strange man in York New City.  
> [13] — Your nen mentor puts you through hell.  
> [14] — Hisoka and you work your way down Trick Tower.  
> [15] — Leorio and Kurapika discuss their feelings for you.

_[11] Killua Zoldyck VS. [Y/n]_

For as long as you could remember, Gon had always been a younger brother to you. You had been raised alongside him, and you had vowed to yourself to always protect him. You had trained and grew stronger under your _nen_ mentor for the sole purpose of wanting to protect Gon! He tended to rely on you more than anybody, even Aunt Mito, and you cherished it.

That all changed during the Hunter Exam.

You should have been happy that Gon was making friends, should have been happy as an older sister that he had somebody his own age to talk to, but you just couldn't be. Because that meant Gon wasn't relying on you anymore.

It's not that you _didn't_ like Killua. He was a smart kid, and despite his mean quips and rude attitude, he was a good friend to Gon. However, he took up all of Gon's attention. You were used to soaking up all of Gon's attention, and now it was divided. Killua, who had clearly never had a friend before, felt the same way, usually sticking his tongue out at you or being particularly rude to you when Gon wasn't paying attention.

It was an odd friendship — and no matter what Killua said, you _did_ consider him a friend. It was more of a rivalry than anything, but you knew you'd _probably_ be able to count on him when it mattered.

"Hey, [Y/n], will you be okay by yourself?" Distracting you from taking in the giant airship's appearance, you looked over at Gon, your smile dimming slightly.

"What?" You asked, tilting your head.

Killua rolled his eyes. "We're going off to explore, _idiot_. Do you ever pay attention?"

You pursed your lips but didn't dignify Killua with a response. You really wanted to say no, to tell Gon that it would be best to stick with you during the Hunter Exam, but... That would be extremely selfish of you, and you couldn't say 'no' when Gon looked so excited to hang out with his new friend.

Masking your disappointment, you gave him an indulgent smile. "Yeah, yeah, you kids go have fun. Just be careful, and stay away from Hisoka!" you told him, and Gon laughed, giving you a hug before running off with Killua.

"Thanks, [Y/n]!"

When they had disappeared, you deflated slightly, pouting. Nobody could ever replace you — you were rational enough to know that. After all, Gon only had one big sister. However, the same could probably be said for Killua at this point. As much as you hated to admit... You'd have to learn to share.

Seeing two figures walking ahead of you, you perked up and quickly ran to catch up with them. 

"Leorio, Kurapika! Mind if I hang with y'all for a bit?"

* * *

_[12] The Mysterious Man_

York New City was pretty, but it was filled with idiots. Watching the news on the T.V. in the big square as they announced the deaths of more than half of the Phantom Troupe, you found yourself scoffing and rolling your eyes.

"As _if_ the Phantom Troupe could be taken down by mafia goonies. These people are true, bona fide idiots." Shaking your head ruefully, you continued talking to yourself, ignoring the strange and affronted looks you received. "And they'll most likely run back to the auctions, thinking they're safe. _Idiots_."

You hadn't noticed the man come up from the side, his moves quiet, but you _did_ register his voice when he talked. You didn't give him your full attention, just looking out of the peripheral of your vision to appraise him. He had a low, soothing voice, and seemed handsome from this angle, with his black hair let down and in a fine suit.

"You seem quite sure of that," he had said, and although you couldn't see his full face, you could hear the amused smile in his voice.

You snorted. "Come on, let's be real. You think a group of S-rank criminals, who can avoid trained assassins and hunters, would be defeated by the _mafia_? Use your brain." You didn't mean to come off as condescending as you sounded, but it was true. You were 100% sure this was some kind of trick. Perhaps one of them was a _nen_ user who could create hallucinations or replications?

"You won't be able to convince anybody else of that," the man said. "They found the bodies, after all."

You crossed your arms, finally turning to give the man your whole attention — and did a double take, your cheeks turning red immediately. You could tell before he had probably gotten lucky in the looks department, but seeing him full-on made you reassess that initial observation. He wasn't just handsome. He was _gorgeous_ , and you couldn't speak for a moment, getting lost in his silver eyes.

"I-I..." You stammered, before scowling. You were _not_ going to let a pretty face distract or woo you. "Did you not hear me? The bodies are most likely fake," you pointed out, shaking your head in exasperation. "I'm not complaining, though. I'm not saying I'm a sympathizer with those jerks, but the mafia could stand to be taken down a few pegs."

The man quirked an eyebrow, and you noticed he had green bandages around his forehead. Fashion choice, or injury? You didn't know.

"You're hoping they are alive?"

You averted your eyes, feeling a wave of embarrassment. When he put it like _that_ , it didn't sound good at all!

Still refusing to look in his eyes, you spoke up, your voice firm despite the fact that you knew your beliefs were controversial. "They've done a lot of awful things," you started. "And personally, I am against them because they killed my friend's family, but..." You finally met his gaze again, your own [e/c] eyes hard and determined. "I am in no place to judge or condemn. I will do — have _done_ — unforgivable things for the sake of protecting my loved ones. To judge them... It'd be hypocritical."

Your harshness dimmed as you continued to speak. "I don't know their situation, but I know they are from Meteor City. A place where everybody's left to be forgotten and die... It's just no wonder they do the things they do. If you were in that position, I'm sure you'd agree."

The man's lips quirked upwards, but you could see the surprise that flickered in his eyes. "That is an interesting perspective... I'd say I agree with you, though, Miss...?"

"[Y/n]," you supplied, your face softening into a genuine smile as you held out a hand to shake.

The man took your hand and shook it gently, and you felt your cheeks redden again. His grasp was soft, his _hands_ were soft, and warm, and _comforting_... Oh god, you could not be crushing on a stranger. He was definitely older than you, not to mention you had _way_ too much to worry about right now!

"[Y/n] . . . " The man repeated, before giving you a more charming smile. "It was a pleasure to meet you, [Y/n], as well as enlightening. I'm sure we'll meet again."

He let go of your hand and started to walk away, his hands in his pockets, and you found yourself stepping afterwards. "Wait, I didn't get your name!" you shouted indignantly.

Stopping, the man looked back over his shoulder, giving you another smile. "Chrollo."

And with that said, he continued to walk, eventually getting lost in the sea of people that crowded York New Square.

 _Chrollo_ , you mused, a fond smile crossing your face. _Perhaps we will cross paths again. Who knows...?_

* * *

_[13] Teacher From Hell_

"I'm heading out, dear [Y/n]."

You glanced up from the comic book you were reading, giving your mentor a displeased look. "What about my training? You said that when you were done writing that letter, we'd resume, you lying rat."

A hand fluttering up to his chest in mock hurt, your mentor shrugged. "Is that _any_ way to treat your teacher?"

You snorted, your demeanor not changing. "Maybe if you gave me your fucking name and the time of day, I'd show more respect."

The Rat (as you had dubbed him) gave you a half-shrug as if to say, _What can you do?_ If he wasn't such an excellent _nen_ user, you would have ditched him by now, but despite all of your grievances with him... Well, you _were_ improving tremendously.

"I'll be back later. In the meantime, look after this, will you?"

Pulling something out of his briefcase, he handed you what looked to be a skull carved out of pure emerald, and your jaw nearly dropped. "What the hell is this?!" Jeez, this had to have cost a fortune!

The Rat didn't bother to reply, instead giving you a wave and his usual infuriating smile before walking off towards the ATV you two had taken out here. This left you with no transportation and in the middle of a deserted desert oasis. Hopefully you wouldn't need to leave anytime soon.

As the day grew later, the sun descended lower, and The Rat never returned. You were growing irritated and impatient, and finally just set up your camp, deciding to head to bed. Who knew when that aggravating asshole would be back — it wasn't the first time he left you in the middle of nowhere. You were just glad it wasn't surrounded by thugs in an alley like last time.

You see, your _nen_ teacher had a certain _knack_ for putting you in deadly and dangerous situations. He figured it would make you stronger, but in reality, it just made you more reckless and _extremely_ angry at him. Even when he had initiated your _nen_ , he had done it in a way that nearly killed you! Sure, you were learning at a fast rate, but could he maybe do it in a way that _didn't_ put you into mortal peril? A part of you figured this guy was worse than Hisoka. And even _worse_ , you were fairly sure your mentor enjoyed it. One thing you had learned about him was that, as charming and dramatic as he acted, he was one sadistic fucker.

Sometime during the night as you had been lightly sleeping, voices woke you up. You were immediately on guard, as nobody ever came this way, and you tensed, using _gyo_ to enhance your hearing to pick up the words.

"The letter said that that brat who stole our skull was somewhere around here... If we're quiet enough, we can probably just kill her and take our prize."

God damnit. God _fucking_ damnit. You were going to _kill_ your mentor. Of course he would do this to you.

Standing up and cracking your knuckles, you let out an exasperated sigh. 

You'd just have to deal with these goons first, and with a bitter smile, you made your move, swiftly dispatching the men with only one thought on your mind.

_Stupid Rat!_

* * *

_[14] Trick Tower_

You couldn't believe your luck — of all the people to have to work alongside with in Trick Tower, it had to be _Hisoka_? While he seemed to be enjoying the match-up, you couldn't help but curse every deity in existence. Hell, you would even take _Tonpa_! At least you could beat him into submission.

However... You also recognized it could be worse. You knew Hisoka was capable at the very least, and didn't have to worry about him holding you back at all.

"Let's just get on with this," you grumbled, unable to wipe that scowl off your face. Hisoka's grin widened.

"Oh~?"

Entering the first room, a voice spoke up through an intercom. "Hello. I am Lippo, and it seems you've picked the path of Heads or Tails." _Picked._ That was a generous way of putting it. "On the stand between those two doors is a coin. To decide any disagreements, you and your partner must decide on a side and flip the coin. Whichever side it lands on is whichever way you go. You have 72 hours — good luck."

You walked and picked up the coin, examining it in interest. On one side was the Hunter association symbol, and the other was an engraving of what was probably Trick Tower. It was clearly custom made just for this, and you half-wondered if you could keep it once this was all done. It was pretty cool.

"I say we go through the right door," you said, only to be countered by Hisoka, who suggested the left. You whirled around to glare at him, and he gave you a little shrug, that smile on his face the entire time. "Seriously? Are you going to be like this the entire time?"

Nonetheless, you had to flip the coin, and wound up begrudgingly going left. Every path you came across, every decision — Hisoka would infuriatingly counter it, knowing it would get a rise out of you. You didn't think he even cared about which ways to go. You were sure he was just being a dick.

At least you were right about one thing — Hisoka indeed didn't hold you back. When it came to fighting, you both dispatched the prisoners easily (with you even accidentally flipping one off the edge and into a dark abyss), and he didn't waste time when the previous year's examiner attacked him. Even though he countered every decision you made, you both made it to the end of Trick Tower, being the first contestants to make it.

Sure, Hisoka was a piece of work with ambiguous morals and motives, but you had to admit — he was skilled and powerful. It was honestly motivating.

One day, you were going to be strong enough to wipe that grin off his face. You just hoped he was ready.

* * *

_[15] Unexpressed Feelings_

"I'm going down to grab some snacks from the lobby, does anybody want anything?"

Currently in a hotel room with Gon, Kurapika, Leorio, and Killua, you had the intense need to get fresh air. This Phantom Troupe business, while exciting, was also a bit exhausting. It was to be expected — it was a group of high-class criminals, so it wouldn't be a walk in the park. _Still_... Maybe you weren't one to talk, but you wished Gon wouldn't so recklessly want to help Kurapika. Was that hypocritical of you, considering you had also jumped at the opportunity? You didn't think so. You were just being a protective older sister!

Killua looked up, clearly exasperated at both yours and Gon's willingness to put yourselves in danger. "Get me a choco-robo."

"Magic word?"

The ex-assassin looked at you blankly. When you refused to budge, he let out an over-dramatic sigh and rolled his eyes. " _Please._ "

Even if reluctant, it was good enough, and you turned to the others. They all denied your request, save for Gon who wanted a juice, and you were quick to leave the stifling atmosphere of the hotel room.

As soon as the door closed, and the four heard your footsteps fade, Leorio turned to Kurapika, a rare show of irritation on his face as Gon and Killua engaged in their own conversation. After all, they weren't going to make important plans without you!

Kurapika met his eyes, albeit a bit confused. What was with the change in emotion?

Leorio didn't hesitate to speak his mind. "You're really stupid, hah? If you don't tell [Y/n] your feelings, somebody else is going to snatch her up. She's too oblivious to pick up on any hints." The teen's words caught Kurapika off guard, and immediately put him on defense as his face reddened. Was he that obvious? Clearly not, or else the ever-so-tactless Gon would have said something by now.

"You don't know anything," Kurapika replied stiffly. He didn't want to talk about this, didn't want to think about it. He couldn't — not right now, not when he was so close to taking down the Troupe.

Leorio scoffed. "I know that you like her and won't man up enough to tell her. If you don't, then I'll make my move myself."

This surprised Kurapika even more than Leorio's unusual astuteness. "Wait — what?" He spluttered. He knew Leorio would sometimes flirt with you, but that was just, well, _Leorio_. He was all about women in general. But you?

The taller man rolled his eyes, picking up his beer to take a long drink from it. "I'm trying to be patient since you're socially awkward," he earned a glare at that, "but I'm not going to wait forever. I like her too, ya know!"

Kurapika didn't have time to respond as the hotel room door opened, revealing you with an armload of snacks and choco-robo's. Handing them off to Killua and Gon, you did a double take at Leorio and Kurapika. You didn't overhear them, but it was obvious to tell they had been arguing, and you faltered, unsure.

"Is everything OK?" you asked, opening a can of juice to drink. Both teens hastily nodded, before Kurapika cleared his throat, averting his gaze.

"We should go back to making our plan . . . Time is of the essence."

You didn't quite believe them, but weren't going to butt in, nodding once instead. "Alright then, tell me what you need me to do. I'm ready."


	38. Two Sides of the Same Coin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You recuperate in the hospital with Midoriya, Iida, and Todoroki. Elsewhere, though, two more people from your world appear.

"That's why, until I become a true hero, I won't repair my arm."

Izuku had walked in right after you had gotten back to the hotel room, only to hear the distressing news about Tenya's arm and nerve damage. Holding up your heavily bandaged hand, you tried to give him a smile.

"Well, at least we have matching hand wounds," you joked, trying to lighten the atmosphere. "Does this make us best friends now?"

Izuku looked down at his injured hand as well, and you had the wry thought that you all were a weird band of misfits. The only one who didn't have a matching hand wound was Shouto, although that was probably a _good_ thing.

As if Shouto could sense your thought, he looked down. "I feel... Kind of bad..."

You all looked over in confusion at his change in demeanor. "Um, what?"

"Every time I get involved, other people mess up their hands..." Whatever you were expecting Shouto to say, it wasn't that as he glared down at his own first. You stood there, frozen. Did you... Hallucinate? Did he really say that? "Is it a curse?"

The three of you erupted into laughter, and you had to sit down as you painfully held your sides, gasping for air between laughs. "I can't believe you can joke, Shouto!"

"I'm not joking... I'm like the 'Hand Crusher' or something..."

This caused you all to laugh harder at his words. Wiping a tear from your eyes, you tried to stifle your giggles. "Th-the 'Hand Crusher'... oh my god.... pffffft!"

And just for that moment, everything felt fine.

A day later, you had been discharged from the hospital. It wasn't Hawks who had showed up to pick you up, but Kurapika, with Usagi as the driver. You were sure Kurapika could drive, but he didn't have a Japanese driver's license, so it was better safe than sorry. You were still disgruntled by Hawks' lack of appearance and his abandonment of you in Hosu, but kept silent for most of the ride back to headquarters.

"Still nothing?"

Kurapika didn't need to elaborate for you to know he was talking about your _nen_ , and you shrugged. "A little bit more is there, but not a lot." You held up your bandaged hand, grimacing. "Not that it matters. It's most likely too late to save the nerves in my hand."

His facial expression didn't change much as he nodded, his eyes slowly traveling over to the car window. "I believe Hawks is planning for the rest of your internship to be spent idly, so you can rest."

You snorted, rolling your eyes. "What, he's not going to show up to talk to me himself?"

Your friend didn't bother saying anything else, and soon enough you were all back in Shinjuku at Hawks' headquarters. Usagi didn't greet you like normal as she held the door open for you, most likely because she was nervous with your grouchy expression. After being granted clearance, you and Kurapika were led to an elevator that started to ascend. You stood there with your arms crossed, tapping your foot in irritation.

Getting to the floor you all needed to go to, you were displeased to be led to the meeting room where you were first reunited with Kurapika, and even more displeased to see Hawks there, papers spread out all around him. At your entrance he looked up, giving you two an easy-going smile.

"You're back! I heard ya got quite the lecture from Officer Tsurugamae, so I'll spare you that."

You couldn't help it — at his nonchalant attitude, your anger flared up. "Is that all you have to say?!" You asked hotly, throwing your hands up in the air. "You _left_ me behind in Hosu, and then didn't bother to contact me or visit me at _all_ while I was in the hospital!" Kurapika stood awkwardly to the side during your little tirade, and Hawks stood up, holding his hands up in an attempt to calm you.

"I would have come if I could, kiddo." This didn't appease you at all. "After the incident, I was busy trying to track down Hisoka and get more information about your world and the League of Villains. I realize now I shouldn't have left you behind in Hosu, and that was wrong on my part." It was a half-assed apology for sure, but as much as you wanted to be angry, your hunger for information outweighed it.

Crossing your arms again, you fixed him with an unenthused look. "And did you manage to find information?"

Hawks gestured to the table by him, and your eyes narrowed at the mess of paper. "Another... _portal_ opened up while you were gone."

 _This_ was some news and you perked up, your eyebrows nearly shooting up into your hairline at the information. Immediately, your frustration ebbed away into excitement. "You're serious? Where?! Did somebody else come from our world?"

Hawks sighed and you could tell that he was a bit tired as he gave a nonchalant shrug. "The energy readings were pretty significant, and it looks like it's still open if the constant power outages in Musutafu are anything to go by," he said. "If we search hard, you might be able to get back home within the next week."

Musutafu... That's where Aizawa's apartment was! Your eyes were wide as you took in the information. Within the week, you'd be able to get back to Gon and Killua!

But . . .

You closed your eyes. You'd have to leave everybody else behind. You weren't sure you could handle that. Izuku, Shouto, Ochaco, Mina, all your other classmates and friends... You would probably never see them again. Your heart beat painfully, and you let out a big exhale through your nose as you had made up your mind.

"[Y/n]?"

You opened your eyes, a determined look glimmering in your [e/c] eyes. "I appreciate that," you earnestly started, "and I think it's a good idea to find this portal to make sure nobody came from our world. Especially a Phantom Troupe member." You paused, taking a deep breath to prepare yourself for the deliverance of your news. "But you say _I_ can go back... What about Kurapika? And the others?"

Hawks and Kurapika exchanged grim looks, as if expecting you to freak out. And well, honestly, you sort of were. You were so _close_ to going back home, but...

It wouldn't be the same without Kurapika.

"I can't go back," Kurapika said somberly, and you met his eyes defiantly. Before you could protest — and your mouth was already open to do exactly that — Kurapika held his hand up. "Chrollo is here, as well as Hisoka and somebody else in the shadows. I can't allow the Phantom Troupe to wreak havoc in another world as well."

"Then I want to stay too."

The two stiffened, and you couldn't help but scowl, crossing your arms. "I came here before both Kurapika _and_ Hisoka. And probably before Chrollo and that mystery _nen_ user, too. This is my problem too, isn't it? I refuse to go back without Kurapika!" You were being a bit childish, you _knew_ it, but you couldn't believe your ears. Did they not think you were capable of fighting?

"No offense, kiddo, but you made it seem like you literally had no care to be here," Hawks pointed out. You don't think you've ever seen him so serious before. "We can't allow the people from your world to keep coming into ours. It's not—"

You cut him off. "I may not like it here," you started harshly, "but that doesn't mean I can leave everybody behind to clean up what is _essentially_ some of my mess. Besides, aren't I in hero school? It wouldn't be very hero-like for me to up and run away from a problem, wouldn't it?" You were sure you had gotten them, and both Kurapika and Hawks exchanged another glance that agitated you. Would they stop treating you like a kid? Kurapika was literally just one year older than you!

Hawks chuckled, scratching his head. "You surprise me, kid."

Kurapika nodded, a fonder smile on his face. "I told you she wouldn't agree," he said, arching an eyebrow. "But [Y/n]... Are you sure? If this portal closes, we don't know when the next one will appear."

Vehemently, you nodded. "Hell yeah! I'm in this for the long run now, so let me help whenever possible!"

With that said, you were allowed to go back to your room and rest for the night. The next few days of your internship, true to Kurapika's words, was spent in a more relaxed manner. Your _nen_ was coming back steadily as you practiced your _ten_ everyday. You shuffled through papers with Hawks and Kurapika when Hawks wasn't patrolling, the three of you trying to connect all of the dots and come up with theories. After a lot of consideration, the three of you agreed there was definitely another _nen_ user behind the League of Villains that you all were unaware of. This was because you had apparently gotten here first, with Chrollo and the mystery _nen_ user coming after. You certainly didn't help Chrollo, and without _nen_ , he would have needed help himself. After Chrollo came Hisoka, and then Kurapika.

Who that _nen_ user was, though, you all had no idea. The only thing the three of you could be certain was that Chrollo still was _nenless_ , because Kurapika could tell his Judgement Chain was still in place.

Before you knew it, it was time to part ways, and you were hesitant on leaving. "Kurapika, come back with me," you urged. "We can go to school together and unravel this all together!"

The blond shook his head, a sad smile on his face. "It's best if I stay here. You need to avoid the spotlight as much as possible, and I won't have enough time to track down Chrollo if I'm in school."

His reasoning was sound, but it didn't make you any less sad as you gave him a last hug, not wanting to let go before Kurapika gently pried you off him. You had also gotten Hawks' phone number after much coaxing from the pro-hero, with you promising that you would only use it for absolute emergencies. Who knew when you were going to need it?

With the lackluster conclusion to what was otherwise a very thrilling internship week, you were dropped off at the train station for your ride back home. 

Thankfully, it was uneventful. No villains, no cryptic phone calls or texts, no threats. Just a peaceful ride to Musutafu, and an even more peaceful walk home. You were stopped by the occasional person to be congratulated on your work during the Sport's Festival, but other than that, there weren't any incidents.

Unlocking the door to your shared apartment with Aizawa, you were disappointed to see that your guardian wasn't here. Instead, a note was on the table addressed to you, stating he was on campus and wouldn't be back until late. Of course, even on your one week off from school, Aizawa was still working. It was nice to see _some_ things never changed.

You were too tired to unpack. Maybe you just hadn't healed from your wounds yet, but this week had both physically and mentally drained you. Just barely able to change into your pajamas, you collapsed on your bed, promising yourself you'd unpack tomorrow. For now... You just wanted to sleep.

* * *

_Elsewhere in Musutafu, Japan_

"Hey, you think this is where [Y/n] is?" Looking up at the skyscrapers and dazzling lights that decorated the city, this new place was oddly reminiscent of York New City. They didn't have time to ogle, though — they were on a mission.

"If that old hag is correct," the other kid replied, seeming disgruntled. "Hey, let's just leave her here. There's no way we're going to find her here."

His friend shook his head adamantly, eyebrows furrowed in pure determination. "Killua, we have to find her! Once we find her, we can use this card to meet my dad!" 

The white-haired teen — also known as Killua Zoldyck — groaned, his hands shoved into his short’s pockets. It's not that he hated [Y/n] — he had a healthy respect for her, as much as he would never admit it out loud. She was like a younger, less hostile Bisky. However, he didn't really care to be in what Bisky had explained as another world. For real, just what had [Y/n] gotten herself into?!

Standing next to him and brimming in excitement, the 13-year-old known as Gon Freecss wrapped his hand around Killua's wrist, pulling him along as they ran out into the streets.

"Come on! We'll find her in no time!"


	39. Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Going back to school, a lot is weighing on your mind. Keeping secrets that could put your friends in danger isn't something you like to do.

Starting school back up was... surreal, to say the least, after everything that had happened over internships. The past week had been so insane that going back to this level of normalcy just felt _weird_. Nonetheless, the world carries on, and you certainly weren't going to be allowed to stay home by yourself, especially in light of recent events.

The morning after you had returned home, you had to tell Aizawa everything. He had been filled in a little bit on what happened, the basics of your encounter with Hero Killer Stain. He didn't know about Kurapika or Hisoka, or the new developments that had been made. You made sure to leave no detail out, underlining the importance that there was one more person working behind the League of Villains and that a portal had been found (but you had refused to go through). Aizawa took everything in grimly and tiredly, as if he was ready to take the world's longest nap after your insane story.

Due to you essentially having a giant target on your back, you weren't allowed to be alone at all. It was really going to mess with Aizawa's patrol hours, and he had assured you that something _would_ be done to make sure you weren't home alone at night. During the day, it was fine — you were at U.A., one of the most secure places in the country. Out in the free world, though, you were free game. You weren't even allowed to walk home with your friends anymore!

You and Aizawa had gotten into an argument over this. You felt it was unfair at this point to be keeping such a big secret from your classmates. Thrice have your friends now been put in danger because of your predicament — it wasn't just you being selfish in wanting to tell them, anymore. They had a right to know!

Aizawa, however, had forbid you from saying anything. For now. It was something that had frustrated you greatly, but even you weren't foolish enough to believe you could do whatever you want. You had texted Kurapika out of frustration, and he had just told you to be cool and to listen to Aizawa for now.

You didn't want to, but you didn't have a choice in the matter. You'd have to wait until the _adults_ were ready to make that decision.

Getting into the classroom, the class was abuzz with talk of their internships, of the Hero Killer, and small chatter. Your gaze landed on three individuals in particular, and you all shared small, subdued smiles. You had all been told to not talk about what had happened, but at the very least you weren't alone.

With everybody talking about their internships, you found yourself gravitating towards Izuku, Shouto, and Tenya all in the back. They were talking quietly, and you greeted them just as quietly.

"H-How are you doing?" Izuku asked first, and you gave a little shrug.

"I'm okay. Just wrapping my head around everything, is all."

The three nodded, and Tenya put a hand under his chin, clearly in thought. "What happened that night, Freecss... That odd-dressed man from before said that the League of Villains wanted you. You must really be in shock."

You grimaced at the thought of Hisoka's words, and you shook your head. "I don't.... I don't want to talk about it, right now." The others nodded, knowing you weren't in the mood. It was just as well, as everybody's attention turned towards you four, clearly concerned.

"We heard you encountered the Hero Killer," Hanta said, and everybody went quiet. "Endeavor saved you all, right?"

You kept your face stoic and let the others talk for you, your face grim. That night... It was vividly ingrained into your memories, and you didn't want to dwell on it right now. Thankfully, you didn't have to, because as soon as Aizawa came in, he instructed everybody to change into their hero costumes for basic hero training.

You were quick to change and follow your class to the field, effectively showing your costume to everybody for the first time.

"[Y/n], what does the 'XX' on the back of your hoodie stand for?" Mina asked, and you faltered, a fond smile coming onto your face.

". . . It reminds me of my family."

Mina grinned and didn't ask any more questions as All Might grabbed everybody's attention for the course for today.

As it turned out, today's training was a rescue race, and you listened idly as All Might explained the rules before pairing you all up into groups. With your aura levels back to normal, and no more incidents with that weird voice in your head, you should be able to handle this just fine. Yesterday, you had healed the rest of your injuries with _nen_ — as expected, your right hand did have nerve damage, and a slight scar on both sides, but it could have been worse. 

Despite being in healthy condition again, you weren't feeling into it today, honestly. Sure, you liked all the physical exercise and fighting, but your mind was too clouded right now with all of the new information. It made it hard to focus, and you found yourself zoning out a lot.

"Hey Freecss, you're up next!"

You jerked your head up to see the group you were supposed to be with, and you blinked once before nodding. "Oh, okay. Yeah, let's go."

Tokoyami wound up winning from your group, and you spent the rest of the class not really talking to anybody, your mind lost in thoughts of both the past and future. Before you knew it, you were back in the changing rooms, getting changed as all of the girls chit-chatted.

"Is everything alright, [Y/n]?"

Looking up at the sound of your name, you locked eyes with Momo. ". . . Yeah. Just not feeling it today, I guess." Your words didn't do much to ease Momo's concerns as you pulled your thigh highs up, and she put a hand gently on your shoulder.

"If you need anybody to talk to, I'm here. Alright? We've all noticed you've been a bit down today, and we want to help."

You plastered a smile on your face, giving her a peace sign even though it was easy to tell you were faking it. "Thanks, Momo! I'm sure I'll be A-OK. I just didn't get enough sleep last night, I think!"

It was clear that she didn't really believe you, but the matter wasn't pushed anymore as you all went back to class, the rest of your day being spent drearily as you wondered just what the future held in store for you.

The next day, you were still feeling a little bit under the weather, although a bit better than before. It was clear some of your classmates were still worried about you as everybody spoke to you in a softer tone, but you were glad that nobody bugged you again. You even joined in on some of the conversation before Aizawa came in, making everybody get to their seats immediately.

"As you all know," Aizawa started, "Summer will be here soon." Chatter picked up again, but Aizawa was not to be deterred as he spoke over the noise. "However, you all will not be allowed to just sit and do nothing. Over the summer, U.A. will be having an outdoor training camp."

Now _that_ sounded fun. Perking up, you were already having so many fun ideas — telling ghost stories by a campfire, s'mores, obstacle courses. It would be a blast! 

As if to dash all of your hopes and dreams, however, Aizawa had ended it with this. "However, to get to that, you must pass the exams first. There will be a written and a practical — those who fail will be in remedial summer school hell."

You slumped. Well _shit_ , looks like no summer camp for you. You were barely scraping by as it was! Math was easy — in the end, it was all numbers. Your reading and writing comprehension in Japanese, though, was still absolutely horrendous. As class was dismissed for everybody to get lunch, you slumped in your seat, a gloom settling over you.

Exams, exams... You were doomed! In midterms, you had come in 21st place, after Denki. _Denki_! Sensing your depressed mood, and speaking of the devil, Mina and Denki looked over at you.

"Hey, [Y/n], didn't you rank last in midterms?" You knew Mina didn't mean to rub it in, but you pressed your face against the desk, moping. It _was_ the truth. It wasn't your fault that all of your classwork was written in another language!

Mina patted your shoulder. "You should study with us at Yaomomo's house! She ranked 1st, so I'm sure she'll be able to help you!" You lifted your head up, looking at Mina with teary eyes.

"Really...?"

"Yeah, so cheer up! You'll pass for sure!"

After Momo had agreed to take you under her wing as well, you all had left to the cafeteria, everybody chatting about the exams. Who they were all studying with, the camp, what the practicals may be. You had a bit more faith in the practical exam, but written? Yeah, if Momo couldn't help you, you were doomed. Hopefully Nejire wasn't too busy with her own exams to help you . . . ?

Parting ways with those two, you went to go sit with Izuku and the others, and you wryly looked down at the line of you, Shouto, Tenya, and Izuku. You all had matching arm and hand bandages from the Hero Killer fight, it was actually kind of funny. In a morbid way, anyways. Even here, talk of the exams were impossible to escape, and you pouted as you ate your food silently.

Noticing your down behavior, Shouto looked over at you in question. "Are you okay, Freecss?"

You shrugged, letting out a small sigh. "Momo says I can study with her, but... I'm really bad at school. I don't really think one weekend is going to help me, and I really want to go to summer camp with you all."

Shouto was thoughtful as he slowly ate his food. "Hm... I can help you study as well if that helps." Your eyebrows shot up in surprise at the offer, your mood doing a complete 180. Shouto was pretty smart, too, and he was offering his help?

You nodded vehemently. "Yes, please! I need all the help I can get!"

Shouto gave you a small, barely noticeable smile. "Alright, we can text and plan it around Yaoyorozu's study group so you can do both."

You were extremely thankful for Shouto's offer and started to dig into your food with a renewed vigor. With both Shouto and Momo helping you study, you had this in the bag!... Well, hopefully.

"Whoops! Sorry, your head is so big that I accidentally hit it."

Looking up, your cheeks puffing out from all the rice you had just shoved into your mouth, you watched as some weird blond guy elbowed Izuku's head. Wait... That was the guy who had attempted to steal your "quirk"! He was in that other class, right?

"You're from Class B, right?" Izuku asked, and the blond ignored his question as he looked at all of you.

"I heard you guys met the Hero Killer." You tensed, and you could see Tenya visibly jolt. "Just like at the Sport's Festival, you guys in Class A have to have all of the attention, huh? But that attention isn't because people have high hopes for you, it's because you keep attracting trouble, right?"

You swallowed your food, standing up from your chair. "How _scary_. Someday, the rest of us might be caught up in the trouble you bring and we'll become the victims."

You stepped forward, ignoring the hand that rested gently on your bandaged arm in an attempt to stop you. "Oi, shut the hell up!" You told the blond. "You think we _like_ getting in trouble constantly? You're just all pissy that you'll _never_ get the attention you want."

The blond turned to look at you, annoyance flickering in his gray eyes, and you stood your ground. "You're one of the worst ones, Freecss, from what I've — _oof_!"

Before you could punch him — and boy were you about to — somebody had beaten you to the punch. No pun intended. Chopping him from behind the head was a pretty girl you had never seen before, looking equally annoyed at the blond's antics. Looking down, you realized it was Shouto whom had grasped your arm, and you gave him a small nod to tell him you were okay. He nodded back before going back to eating, not really caring about the situation.

"Monoma, quit it! Don't you know what happened to Iida?"

She turned her attention to you all, her gaze softening as she offered a smile. "Sorry about him, his heart's just kinda, well, you know." You all looked down at the slumped Monoma. Was he unconscious? Maybe even dead? "I heard you guys talking about the practical exams earlier, right? It looks like it will be combat against robots like in the entrance exams."

You tilted your head. You didn't take entrance exams... But if they were like the robots in the Sport's Festival, you weren't concerned.

"How do you know?"

"An upperclassman friend of mine told me," she said, before adding on, "It's kind of cheating, though..."

From below, Monoma groaned. "Are you an idiot, Kendo? We had an information advantage! We finally had a chance to get ahead of the detestable Class A!"

The girl, Kendo, swiftly hit him again, knocking him out, and you whistled. "I like you!" You grinned at the orange haired girl. "I'm Freecss [Y/n]! Kendo, right?"

Kendo had started to drag Monoma away, but she stopped and looked back, giving you a genuine smile. "Yeah, Kendo Itsuka. It's nice to meet you officially, Freecss."

You nodded, sitting back down after flashing her a peace sign. You finally became friends with somebody from another class! Well, wait, there was also Mei and Hitoshi...

Agh, you were getting sidetracked again! Not wanting to lose focus on your studying plights, you were quick to finish your food, exchanging information with Shouto. You had both decided it'd be easiest if the study session wasn't on the same day as Momo's, and so with that planned out, you were feeling a bit more at ease as you finished your school day, heading home. You weren't as glum as yesterday, so bogged down with your thoughts that it was hard to focus, but your classmates could still tell that you weren't at your best yet.

The school day winding down, you waited at the school entrance in annoyance. Aizawa had you wait for somebody to walk you home — yesterday, it was him, but he said somebody else would be picking you up and escorting you back to the apartment. It was annoying, but not surprising considering the circumstances.

"[Y/n]."

Looking up from your phone, your scowl morphed into an excited grin as you immediately hugged Kurapika. Okay, so you were fine if it was _Kurapika_ walking you home! That was fine, definitely!

The two of you set off immediately, and Kurapika wasted no time in explaining himself. "Your... _guardian_ , Aizawa, requested I walk you to and from school since I can detect _nen_ well enough," he started. The teen himself seemed annoyed, and you furrowed your eyebrows. He was going to do this every day?

"That's really going to cut into your search time," you pointed out, much to Kurapika's agitation.

He hummed. "It will. Kei — _Hawks_ , thinks he can handle the search without me, and you're a bigger priority." You felt a bit flattered that he thought you were the bigger priority, but also kind of hurt. And a bit curious.

"You know Hawks' real name? What is it?!"

Your reaction elicited a soft smile from Kurapika as he said nothing and continued to walk, ignoring your dissatisfied groan. "Ughhh I want to know, please, please!"

Kurapika did not tell you, your pleads falling on deaf ears as the two of you finally made it to the apartment. Instead of just dropping you off, Kurapika walked you up to the door. You shot him a look of confusion.

"Uh? What now?"

"I need to discuss some topics with your guardian before I head back," he said, and you shrugged, letting him into the apartment. Tonight was probably going to be a takeout night, and so you told Kurapika to just make himself comfortable as you ordered food.

You had a feeling this was going to be a very awkward evening.


	40. Specialist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your asshole nen mentor was a liar. Also, you're starting to figure out that Bakugou has an eavesdropping issue.

You didn't know what Kurapika and Aizawa had talked about, as you had been immediately banished to your room after dinner. You supposed you _could_ have eavesdropped with your _nen_ , but you were polite and waited patiently until you were called back out into the living room. You had made your displeasure clearly known, but neither Aizawa nor Kurapika looked like they really cared. Soon, your focus was drawn to a cup filled with water on the table, a single leaf placed in it. You stuck out your tongue.

"I already _know_ my _nen_ type," you told Kurapika irritably. "I don't need to do this again."

Kurapika shook his head, his eyes more thoughtful than anything else. Contemplative. "You say you're an enhancer, right?" He waited for your nod of confirmation to continue. "From what I've seen from the Sports Festival, and training with you, it doesn't seem right. It shouldn't drain you that much to be using abilities from your _nen_ category. Adding on, I believe that voice in your head that warns you and tries to help you out might be a _hatsu_ you subconsciously made."

You shifted on your feet, frowning slightly. "My _nen_ teacher was pretty thorough when it came to my abilities. I doubt he would have messed something up." Not to mention you _doubted_ that voice was of your own creation, but that was a topic for another time.

 _And my teacher... he wouldn't have messed something up on_ accident, your brain had immediately supplied. _After all, how many times had he screwed you over?_

It was enough to get you to pause again, and you sighed, kneeling on the ground on the opposite side of the table. You shot him an irritated look before holding your hands around the cup, immediately feeling the _nen_ pool up in your hands. As expected of an enhancer, the water began to fill, overflowing the cup before the glass shattered, tiny shards exploding outwards and water getting everywhere.

"See? Enhancer."

"No... You're a specialist."

You froze, your mouth popping open slightly in confusion as you stammered. "Uh.... You did see the water overflow, right...?"

Kurapika sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, and you suddenly felt very confused. "If you were an enhancer, that's _all_ that should have happened. The glass _literally_ just shattered, meaning you have been training in the wrong _nen_ category."

You sat there dumbly for a moment, looking back and forth from Aizawa and Kurapika, unsure of how to react. Your teacher had been silent the entire time, watching the exchange tiredly, and Kurapika looked even more thoughtful from before. It made sense... You guessed. You weren't entirely sure on the basics of _nen_ , but it wasn't surprising that your _nen_ teacher had made you train in the wrong _nen_ category. Just another way to mess around with you, you supposed.

". . . Well, what do I do, then?"

Kurapika looked over at Aizawa, his eyebrows furrowed. "Your quirks here are pretty inflexible and can't really be changed that much. If she starts training in other categories, could that be written off as a quirk misclassification?"

"It depends. By law, people can change their quirk registry once — if you two work on something else, it's highly possible that we can change her quirk classification within reason," he supplied, thinking hard about it. Within reason... Well, shoot, you could have come up with a super cool _hatsu_ if you knew this beforehand! Now you couldn't do anything too outlandish lest you stood out even more than you already did! A pity — if you could have trained in emitter attacks, you could have made literal finger guns to shoot beams of aura out of your index finger.

Throwing yourself back as your back roughly hit the floor, you groaned. "Why is my life like this?"

Neither Kurapika nor Aizawa answered you for a moment. When Kurapika next spoke, it had nothing to do with your question. Instead, he was back to the _nen_ topic.

"I suppose it can't be helped... Who was your _nen_ teacher, [Y/n]?"

You shrugged, pushing yourself back up in a sitting position. "He never gave me his name."

". . . _What_."

"Yeah, he never shared his name, so I always just called him 'that rat'. Well, and a whole bunch of other ones like 'asshole', 'jerk', and my _personal_ favorite, 'dick weed'. I _can_ tell you that his fashion sense is worse than Hisoka's, though, and that he's probably stronger than Hisoka, too. But very shady." Your words came out matter of fact, and you could sense Aizawa having a stroke on the inside as he listened to you speak.

"Just what goes on in that world of yours?"

You and Kurapika exchanged wry looks. That wasn't even the _start_ of it. "It's certainly... _Different,_ " Kurapika finally supplied, running a hand through his hair. "Anyways, I suppose I have no choice but to help hone in your _nen_ abilities after school and on the weekends. Ideally, it's recommended to focus on one category a day, but as a specialist..." He trailed off, and you shook your head adamantly.

"I, uh, can't this weekend." You received a disapproving glance from Aizawa. "I have a couple of study groups for exams so I don't fail the written portion." Your guardian's gaze softened a bit, and you gave a small sigh of relief. You had been afraid of him saying you couldn't due to your predicament, but thankfully he wasn't going to argue if you were going out for your academic pursuits.

Kurapika nodded. "That's fine, studying is important. For now, just think about what you want to do with your _nen_. What you want to accomplish with your ability. As a specialist... Your options are limitless." That wasn't exactly what you wanted to hear. Limitless options did not help at all, because that meant you had nowhere to start! Instead of complaining, though, you gave another listless shrug. Too bad you couldn't pick Izuku's brain again for this, but it wouldn't be fair.

"I guess I'll think about it..."

Kurapika stood up, nodding at Aizawa once, before turning to you. "I'm heading to my apartment, but I'll be here tomorrow to walk you to school."

"Yeah, oka— wait, you have your own place?! Why can't I have one?!"

Needless to say, you couldn’t move in with Kurapika, with the teen getting flustered and saying it was better you stay with Aizawa. You were disappointed, but didn't argue — after all, Aizawa had become like a dad to you, so you didn't mind having a father figure to watch out for you still.

The next day, as Kurapika had promised, he had walked you to U.A. You hadn't said anything, and even stayed silent in class for most of the day, causing your classmates to be concerned. It wasn't due to you thinking seriously about the past and future and what could happen, though. Instead, you were thinking hard one what you wanted to do with your _nen_. What you _could_ do. Clearly, whatever was residing in your head didn't really appreciate your enhancement _hatsu_.

The problem was, you had literally spent your entire hunter career believing you were an enhancer. As it was, enhancers normally didn't have special abilities — they just enhanced their strength or speed or something. That's why you had stuck with something basic and easy. Now that the options were opened up, you had no clue as to what to do!

During lunch, you ate silently with Izuku's group again as they all continued to talk about exams and the camping trip. For a moment, Izuku had tried to bring you into the conversation too, clearly worried for you, but you had only been half-paying attention and shrugged him off with a vague, "Yeah, sure." For the rest of the lunch period, Izuku had kept casting you worried looks, with you too lost in your thoughts to really notice.

When the school day was done, you had lethargically started to pack your stuff up before two hands slammed onto your desk, effectively startling you and causing you to drop your bag.

"Katsuki what the _fuck_."

The blond in question blushed lightly, but remained angry. "You're annoying all of us with your sad shit the past couple of days. Knock it off."

You blinked once, then twice, wondering why he of all people was bugging you about this. "Uh... Sorry?"

This was not the appropriate response, apparently. As you picked up your bag, Katsuki had grabbed your wrist and started to drag you out of the classroom, and you could only glance back at your remaining classmates helpless as you were forced to follow him. It wasn't until the two of you were outside that he veered off to the side where nobody else was around that you had pulled your wrist away.

"What the fu—"

"It's about your world, isn't it."

Whatever you were going to say and curse fell from your tongue, and you stood there stiller than a statue, wondering if you had hallucinated his words. How did he know? There was literally _no_ way he could have known!

". . . What are you talking about?"

You tried to play clueless, and Katsuki growled, his lips turning downwards into a snarl. "You know exactly what I'm fucking talking about. I overheard you at the Sports Festival, talking about that shit where anybody could hear."

You were having a difficult time remembering what he was talking about before it hit you. The infirmary! You remembered hearing a thump outside the door, but...

"You really have a habit of eavesdropping, huh?"

"HAH?! I'll fucking kill you!"

You couldn't help but laugh, leaning your back against the school wall. "Hm... You're sort of right, though."

Katsuki's anger died down a bit as he shoved his hands into his pockets, still looking irritated. When you didn't say anything else, he got more frustrated. "Well? Are you going to fucking talk?"

"I didn't think you'd be interested in hearing???"

"Don't fucking put words in my mouth!"

You raised your hands up in mock surrender. "Okay, okay, sheesh." You looked up at the sky, avoiding his gaze. "Hm... I don't really want to have to explain it all, but it turns out I have a way of going back home. I turned it down, but now I'm overthinking everything, not to mention that I have to come up with a new ability for my _nen_... Which is, uh, like your guys' quirks."

"Is that fucking _it_? You're fucking _homesick_?!"

You snorted. Leave it to Katsuki to put it so eloquently. "Yeah, I guess, a bit."

Neither of you said nothing for a moment, not until Katsuki huffed under his breath. It was clear he said something, but you didn't hear him as you leaned forward, furrowing your eyebrows. "Can you repeat that?"

"I said it's good you're fucking staying here."

Well, color you surprised for the second time this day. "Huh, I didn't think you could be so sweet, Katsuki!"

"IT'S FUCKING NOT LIKE THAT. I JUST THINK YOU NEED TO FIX YOUR FUCKING MESSES BEFORE YOU LEAVE." He paused, looking just a _bit_ less irritated before saying, "And don't fucking call me that, acting all chummy and shit!"

 _You need to fix your messes before you leave_.

Groaning, you pushed yourself off the wall. You did not like being told the truth, especially by Katsuki of all people, but you did agree. You had some fights to settle and some bad guys to deal with before you could head back to Gon and Killua. 

"You know, talking to you surprisingly did help," you mused.

"AND WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO FUCKING MEAN?!"

You didn't respond, only giving him a genuine smile. He was hot-headed, brash, aggressive, and overall just had an absolutely terrible personality, but deep down... Well, in his own, weird way, it seemed like he did care. There may have been a roundabout way of showing it, but it _was_ there.

Feeling your phone buzz, you checked to see that it was Kurapika — no doubt, he was waiting for you outside the gates.

". . . Thanks again, Katsuki. I mean it, I do feel better talking about it."

Maybe your eyes were just deceiving you, but you could have _sworn_ he had turned just a bit red as he shoved his hands in his pockets, shrugging. "Yeah, yeah," he said, "as long as you're not being some mopey dumbass anymore."

With that, he walked past you, and you couldn't help but watch fondly for a moment before heading off to the front gates as well to greet Kurapika and head home.


	41. Study Hard!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You make a fool out of yourself while studying.

In lieu of exams, you were studying _constantly_. No video games, no slacking off or going to the mall with Mina — just studying 24/7. It was driving you _nuts._ Nejire was helping you the best she could, and you had been able to study with her, Tamaki, and Mirio, but they were definitely more advanced than you. Kurapika helped _nen_ capabilities wise, but...

You still hadn't thought up how you wanted to go about creating your new _hatsu_.

In a way, you envied the people of this world with quirks. From since most of them could remember, they've already _had_ an ability to hone in and get used to. They didn't have to worry about coming up with something stupid like you were worrying about.

The problem wasn't so much that you couldn't think of ideas, it was that you couldn't think of ideas that wouldn't seem so far-fetched outside of your quirk. Kurapika could only help so much, unfortunately. The rest was up to you, and while you had some _vague_ ideas on what you wanted to do, you weren't sure how to go about testing them, let alone writing it off as your "boost" quirk. Talk about a load of stress.

It was finally the weekend, and as _much_ as you wanted to go see that new action movie in theaters, you had other plans. Today was the day Momo had agreed to help you all study, and you felt somewhat bad that she had unknowingly offered to take on your academic failure. It's not that you were bad at school, so much as you never had to study for Japan's history, hero informatics, or Japanese beforehand. You were at a severe disadvantage unfortunately, and your hopes weren't looking too bright at the moment.

Looking up, you could only gaze at the giant house in awe. No, not house — mansion. It put the Zoldyck estate to shame, although hopefully _this_ place wouldn't have a scary (but honestly gorgeous) butler or torture rooms.

Seeing a little button in front of you and assuming it to be the intercom, you pressed it. Immediately, Momo's voice spoke up in excitement.

"Oh, Freecss, you're here! Come right on in!"

The gates opened after a moment, and you slowly walked inside, keeping an eye out. Momo's family didn't _seem_ like it, but you didn't want to risk being eaten by a gigantic dog like the one at the Zoldyck estate.

After a few minutes of walking down the long path, you saw Momo, who was waiting in the door in excitement as she quickly let you in and guided you to a dining room.

"Um, thanks again for letting me come a couple hours early!" She beamed at you, telling you it was no problem while she fetched some tea for you both, saying that you two needed to wait for the others before bringing out the snacks.

Dang.

Without hesitation, the two of you had started to study, Momo realizing quick enough that you were really behind as she corrected your history practice test for the 4th time.

"Freecss, do you really not know the capital of Japan?"

You flushed out of embarrassment. She hadn't asked in a mean way or anything, just genuinely curious, but you could feel your face and ears redden all the same. "Call me [Y/n]," you corrected her first, seeing her blush and lighten up. "And, well, you see, I was home-schooled...?" Even that excuse sounded lame, and you had slumped right afterwards. It wasn't your fault you were from a whole other world!

Momo sighed, patting your shoulder. She seemed to sense your excuse was a lie but didn't say anything about it. Instead, she stayed silent for a moment, thinking, before getting an idea. "What if you studied with flash cards?"

"What?"

"You're not doing too well taking information from the book. I can hazard a guess as to what will be on the test, so why don't I make you flash cards? That way you can take them home, and I'm sure Aizawa-sensei would be more than happy to help you study."

You thought on it for a moment before nodding, and then watching in fascination as Momo started to create a bunch of blank white postcards for the two of you to write on. It would probably take the remainder of your extra time to fill out the cards, but you had faith in Momo's reasoning as the two of you set to work, with her helping you on what to write. It was only when the two of you were almost done that Momo had started to look over your cards — and paused.

"[Y/n], what is this?"

You looked up from the card you were writing on to see what she was talking about and froze. In your haste to get as many done as possible, you had reverted back to your own written language out of habit, and you had _no_ clue how to write that one off. No pun intended.

"It's a. . . sub-dialect! Yeah, it's a written language taught in the U.S." For something on the fly, it actually wasn't the worst excuse, and you took the cards back, quickly writing in Japanese underneath them all. "I'm sorry, I guess I've been practicing it so much recently that I just started writing in that on accident! Here you go!!"

You had messily scrawled out the translations and shoved the cards back to her, with Momo just regarding you weirdly. Not out of suspicion, but just as if you were a puzzle she couldn't figure out. After a moment, she hummed and went back to reading over your translations.

"These all look correct... Will Aizawa-sensei help you with these?"

"I sure hope so," you responded, shrugging. Before you could say anything else, a light chime rang through the hall and Momo perked up in excitement.

"That must be the others! I'll be right back, [Y/n]!"

She left, and you gathered the flash cards quickly to put them in your bag so nobody else asked about your writing. You were just walking on thin ice constantly, it seemed, and it just kept growing more and more frustrating. These slip-ups, however small they might seem, all added up! Katsuki was just one of many whom had figured out your issue, along with Izuku and Ochaco. Not to mention Eijirou, Shouto, Hitoshi, and Tenya were all suspicious, as well... 

You felt genuinely bad for keeping this a secret from people who you had grown to consider close friends.

Breaking you from your downward spiral of thoughts, five people had followed Momo into the room — Kyoka, Denki, Mina, Mashirao, and Hanta. Momo had quickly left, hopefully to bring out snacks.

"I feel really out of place here," Mashirao mumbled, and you laughed lightly.

"I think it's nice! My friend Killua's estate is pretty huge as well, but so gloomy and depressing, not to mention his butlers almost killed us," you laughed at the memory, although your other friends couldn't tell if you were joking or not. Nobody had time to say anything else as Momo came back in with small cakes and cookies, as well as tea for everybody else.

With everybody's cups filled and snacks laid out in front of them, you all got to studying again. Besides the occasional joke, thankfully everybody was serious, with everybody helping each other out. You were even able to provide some help in regards to math!

The afternoon went by quickly, and you found yourself to be the last person to leave Momo's house as everybody else said 'goodbye'. After all, you couldn't leave without Kurapika coming to pick you up, since the adults didn't trust you to be by yourself right now. Momo was patient, waiting with you outside the front door as both of you enjoyed the lingering rays of sun.

"Thanks again, Momo, for helping me. I really appreciate it the help."

"Of course, [Y/n]! I just hope that was enough to help you!"

You patted your bag, shooting her a cheery grin. "I _do_ have those flash cards now! I'm sure I'll be fine!" At the mention of the flash cards, Momo's face grew a bit uncertain. It looked like she was going to say something, but before she could, your phone started to ring. One look at caller ID showed it was Kurapika, and you answered to tell him you were on your way to the front gate.

"I'll see you Monday at school, okay?" You hugged her tightly, and in a moment of boldness pressed a feather-light kiss to her cheek before waving her goodbye. In your haste to leave, not wanting to leave Kurapika hanging, you failed to see the way her face flushed red, or how she cupped her cheek afterwards.

The next day's study session was a complete 180 compared to your session with Momo. Shouto lived in a nice place as well, but it seemed tense. Were you just imagining things? Knocking on the door hesitantly, a woman you had never seen before opened the door, with all white hair save for a single red piece.

"Oh, who do we have here...?"

You fumbled with your words. "I'm supposed to study with Shouto..."

The woman's face brightened. " _Shouto_? Come in! I'm his older sister, Fuyumi." You followed her in as she called Shouto from the bottom of the stairs. You took your shoes off, shuffling hesitantly as he took his time in coming down. You hadn't ever seen him in casual wear, so it was a bit different, and after an awkward greeting the two of you had gone up to his room. Much like the rest of his house, it was Japanese style, and you couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. It was clean — no surprise there — with a comfortable looking kotatsu off to the side, and the two of you went to sit there.

Taking out your textbooks in silence, you tried to make conversation. While it wasn't usually hard, Shouto was an... _Unusual_ case. "I've got math down," you started, "but, um, could definitely use help in Japanese and history." You were somewhat decent in hero informatics, but history and Japanese kept tripping you up. 

Shouto nodded once, and after a moment, said, "If you need any help, I'll help you."

. . .

_He may be one of the best in class and on the field, but socially... This guy's absolutely hopeless._

Be that as it may, you hummed in acknowledgement and opened your history book to look over the practice questions. You had done most of them yesterday thanks to Momo's help, but still had to do a few. For the most part, it was quiet. The only sound you could hear was the scratching of pens every now and then as one of you two wrote something down, and you wondered if this was really any help to you or not. You could be doing this at home, honestly.

After about ten minutes of answering questions, you found one that stumped you as you started to tap your pen on the table in Shouto's room in irritation. About a minute of that, and Shouto looked up.

"What is it?"

Before you could answer, he had already gotten up and went around the table to peer over your shoulder. You had immediately tensed, feeling his warm breath on your neck. He didn't seem to be aware of how close he was as he read the question out loud.

"Which conflict is most closely associated with events in Nanjing, Dunkirk, and Hiroshima?"

You had to be honest — _none_ of those places sounded familiar to you. Were they other countries? Cities? _Continents?!_ Shouto paused for a moment, drawing back, and you turned around, feeling the familiar heat of embarrassment creep up into your face.

". . . Was it the cultural revolution?"

Wrong. Shouto's eyebrows furrowed as if trying to figure out if you were joking. When he realized you were serious, it took him a couple moments to find his voice again.

"How do you not know about World War II?"

"You guys fought other _worlds_?"

" _What?_ "

You paused for a moment, realizing that this was probably one of those things that seemed obvious to everybody except for you. ". . . What is World War II?"

Shouto scrutinized you, sitting down on the floor right in front of you instead of back in his seat. Hastily, you turned all the way around so you could face him, and when you were fully facing him he spoke, slowly and carefully. "[Y/n]... I've been thinking about it a lot. About you."

Your face turned red at forwardness of his words, but he continued. "USJ, the sport's festival, and that mysterious villain in Hosu... I thought you were just suffering from middle-schooler syndrome, but it isn't, isn't it?"

Could you not catch a break? Like, at _all_?

"The only thing that would make sense is if you were a rehabilitated villain in hiding from other villains. There's no other reason you'd admit to being delusional, and it explains why you're behind in school."

Oh dear lord.

You couldn't help it. You immediately burst into laughter at Shouto's preposterous theory, clutching your stomach. "Sh-Shouto... Holy shit!" It took you a few minutes before you could finally calm again, still bursting into little giggles despite Shouto's perturbed expression.

"A-A villain! _Me_! That's the funniest thing I've ever heard." Wiping at your eyes, you shook your head.

"Then what is it? You fell from the sky — the others may have forgotten, but I haven't."

Your smile died down as you regarded him, nibbling on your lower lip. You had known it was only a matter of time before he had confronted you again, but what did you do? You were failing at this whole covert thing — seriously. And all these people had to start confronting you when you started taking this secrecy thing more seriously, too!

Thinking about it for a moment, you sighed. You hated keeping secrets — seriously, it felt unfair. However, you kept justifying your slip ups and people finding out when, in reality, you hadn't been defending yourself to begin with. You felt bad, having to stop at Shouto, but you couldn't allow yourself to go on any further.

"I can't tell you," you said seriously, ignoring the way Shouto's mismatched eyes narrowed. "Seriously, I wish I could, but Aizawa will _literally_ murder me if anybody else finds out. If you don't believe me, ask him yourself," you offered up. He seemed to take it seriously before nodding, standing up and going back to his seat — right as Fuyumi came in with some snacks.

"Oh, thanks!" You perked up, immediately helping yourself as she left the room. The rest of the evening was spent in silence until you had to leave, with Shouto walking you awkwardly to the door.

"Freecss—"

"Shouto—"

You both had started to speak at the same time, the two of you immediately shutting up afterwards. "Um, you go first."

Shouto sighed, his eyes softening slightly. "I'm sorry about earlier. Accusing you of being a villain."

You gave him a nonchalant shrug and a wry smile. "Wouldn't be the first time, unfortunately, but it's far from the truth. My situation is just... Difficult. Aizawa and Nezu instructed me to not tell anybody, or else I would tell you in a heartbeat." Your words were honest and genuine, and Shouto seemed to have realized that as he nodded in acknowledgement. "Trust me when I say I really do want to share, but my situation... I don't want to risk putting you in danger. You're a dear friend. It'd be selfish."

Was it just you, or did Shouto seem a bit flustered at your words? "I can handle myself," he said, "but I understand not being able to tell me. If Aizawa and Nezu know, then I guess that's all that matters." He didn't seem entirely certain of his own words. You could tell that it was eating inside at him, that the curiosity was probably unbearable, but you had made up your mind. You were putting your foot down — you couldn't keep on making excuses for your own ineptitude at keeping a secret.

Smiling ruefully, you gave him a half-shrug. "Well, I better go now or else I'll never hear the end of it." Waving goodbye, you left his house. Only when your back was turned did you let your smile slip into something sadder, a thoughtful look in your eyes.

_I wish I could tell you, Shouto. I'm sorry._


	42. Back to the Basics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While working on a new hatsu, that lil' voice in your head gives you tips.

It was days like today that you missed Bisky most. It was strange to not have anybody coach you about your _nen_ , and while you wanted Kurapika to help you develop a new ability, he was busy tracing down leads to Chrollo. The rest of your classmates were off studying and doing their own training, so you didn't necessarily want to bother them . . .

Currently, you were sitting on the grass, leaning back with your hands propping yourself up. You had specifically looked for a field where nobody else would come upon you so you could train with your 'quirk' at will, but so far you had only been doing basic strength exercises like push-ups and sit-ups.

"Damn it," you groaned, throwing yourself back on the soft grass. There weren't many clouds in the sky to protect your eyes from the sun, and so you threw your arm over your face. This was so much harder than it needed to be — you just wanted to get stronger! Was that too hard to ask? It wasn't even _for_ yourself. By appearing in this world, you had brought a whole mess with you, and you wanted to be strong enough to protect your friends and kick the invaders back to your own world.

To be strong didn't automatically translate to 'special ability'. That one spider — Uvogin — had apparently only raw strength, no _hatsu_. Of course, he wasn't a stellar example, but _still_. You could technically just focus on core and physical strength, but how long would that take? How long did it take Uvogin of the Phantom Troupe to get to where he was before Kurapika had felled him?

Time was ticking. Building up your physical strength to be that level would likely take years upon years of intense training; you only had two weeks left before your practical exam, and you didn't want to just half-ass a _hatsu_ , either.

Rolling over so you were on your stomach, you stretched your arm out to grab the backpack you had brought with you, just barely able to reach in and pull out your notebook without getting up. Recently, you had decided to take a page out of Izuku's book, taking notes on everybody's abilities and all that you knew of _nen_ , as well as a badly drawn diagram. You figured that looking at how everybody utilizes their quirks, and the _hatsu_ abilities that people used in your world, would give you inspiration.

Besides, it never hurt to go over the basics.

 _Ten_ , you started first. That was keeping your aura to your body, not allowing it to leak away from you.

 _Zetsu_. That was stopping the flow of your aura to make you harder to detect.

 _Ren_. With _ren_ , you made your aura explode outwards, giving you better durability, protection, and strength.

And the last of the four basic principles, not to mention your current bane of existence.... _Hatsu_. The personal expression of _nen_ that came differently to each _nen_ user. You remember Bisky telling you that a good _nen_ ability reflects somebody's character. Killua's lightning was only possible due to the torture he received as a child, and Gon's _Jajanken_ reflected his preference towards both simplicity and always wanting to enjoy himself.

What even was your character? Great, now you were on the verge of having an existential crisis.

Huffing and realizing you were getting distracted with your own musings again, you went back to reading, now reminding yourself of the more advanced techniques of _nen_.

First down, you had _In_. A much stronger form of _zetsu_ , although instead of hiding your aura flow, it concealed it, making it imperceptible. Your usage of _In_ wasn't the best, but you at least had a solid grasp on it.

 _Gyo_ — that was _ren_ , but focusing it on a certain body part, and leaving the rest of your body weakened. It was best used in your eyes to see other auras, and just have sharper vision in general, but you also liked using it in your ears. It wasn't as common, and your hearing was already sharp from growing up in the wild with Gon, but _gyo_ took your enhanced hearing to a whole new level. 

_En_ , which you were fairly good at. That was expanding your _ren_ and using _ten_ to maintain that shape. With your _en_ , you could sense the movements of everything in your little aura bubble.

 _Shu_ , which you didn't use often, was using _ten_ but extending your aura to go around an object as well to strengthen it.

 _Ko_ , which was a combination of _ten_ , _ren, zetsu, gyo,_ and _hatsu_. It was like _gyo_ on steroids — you focused your _ren_ in one body part, used _ten_ to keep it there, _zetsu_ to stop your aura from leaking everywhere else to further amplify that one body part, and _hatsu_ to add conditions to it when necessary. You've used it for mostly offensive attacks, although you have used that on your legs and other parts of your body to prevent damage.

 _Ken_ , which was a mixture of _ten_ and _ren_. Basically, you just would push your _ren_ out in a stronger state to protect against _ko_.

Last, but not least on your messily scrawled list, was _ryu_. It wasn't something you had been able to even _touch_ yet, so you weren't too certain about your hasty description, but _ryu_ was being able to expertly switch to and from _gyo_ , _ko_ , and _ken_ to combine the perfect offense and defense. You couldn't think that fast during a _nen_ fight, and Bisky had told all three of you that you weren't ready. As much as you knew learning it would benefit you, if you dove into that right now, there was no _way_ you'd be ready for your practical exam. 

Going back up to _hatsu_ , you frowned. A personal expression of _nen_. . . .

. . .

"ARGH!!"

Rolling back onto your back, you grabbed your hair in frustration, nearly kicking your legs out. "I'm never going to figure this out!"

What traits did you have going for you? You were reckless, and stubborn, and forgetful.

**_That's not true!_ **

You had grown complacent with the absence of the mysterious voice that you jolted, sitting up with wide eyes. The voice continued.

**_Yes, you're those three things, but you're also kind, [Y/n]! You would do anything to keep your friends safe, and you're tenacious and always make sure you get done what needs to be done! You're intelligent, and an excellent fighter . . . I admire you greatly!_ **

The perky voice rendered you speechless for a bit, reeling at the onslaught of compliments you had just received. "You — you really think that?"

**_I know that! After all, I've been with you your entire life!_ **

"Wait, what??"

At that, the voice disappeared, and you buried your face in your hands, a muffled moan of exasperation escaping you.

"Shit. Maybe I am going crazy."

Deciding to call it a day since there was no way you could focus now, you packed up your belongings to leave, bitter at your lack of progress.

_I guess my best choice would probably be to analyze different hero and villain fights to practice reading opponents and moves better..._

Trudging along, you kept your eyes to the ground, lost in thought and only stopping when you came across a patch of wildflowers. It was gorgeous, yellows and pinks and purples all blending in together. The sun peeking through the trees and shining down on the flower patch only made the small area seem ethereal, and a soft smile graced your face.

It was _peaceful_.

Amongst the flowers, though, was one wilted one, on the verge of dying. It was smaller, and could be easily missed — in fact, you almost _did_ miss it. The one wilted flower, among a patch of fully bloomed ones, made you purse your lips as you crouched down, your finger grazing a brown petal.

_I can heal people... Could I heal this? Would that even work???_

It didn't hurt to try. Cupping your hands around the flower, you focused on just trying to revive the plant, engulfing it in your aura.

Honestly, you hadn't expected anything to happen — you weren't sure the flower would revive. The flower did that, and much more, though — as you channeled your aura into the plant, it started to sprout up. And then up, and up.

"Oh _shit_!"

Releasing your aura, you fell backwards onto your butt as the flower continued to grow, only stopping when it was at about the level of the trees around the area.

For a moment, you could only gawk in combined horror and shock, your jaw dropping open.

"What. The. Fuck."

The fact that there was a gargantuan flower of your own creation wasn't lost on you. Slowly, wheels started to turn in your brain as you realized what just happened.

Looking around, you spotted a button mushroom by a nearby tree and scrambled towards it, ignoring that you were getting dirt all over you. Putting your hands around the small mushroom, you once again channeled your aura into it, only to receive the same result. Thankfully, you stopped once the mushroom reached the height of your waist, and it didn't go out of control like the flower.

You had been able to heal yourself and others before by channeling your aura to the wounds. It was almost an extension of your own _ten_ , but not for one second did you realize you could extend that to plants and, most likely, animals. Really, anything that was living. If only you could get the plants to do what you _wanted_....

You weren't a manipulator, and had never trained in the manipulator category, but...

_Two weeks, huh?_

Two weeks to figure this out.

Without dallying around anymore, you stood up, brushed the dirt off, and ran back home, wanting to write down a training schedule and all of your ideas.

Your first stop, the next day, was surprisingly the support room, eyes falling on a familiar, pink-haired teen.

"Mei!"

She had been soldering something, and made sure to turn the iron off and set it down before turning to you. Her face lit up in excitement. "[Y/n]! You here to help out today?"

"Mm, actually, no," you admitted bashfully. "I wanted to get adjustments to my hero costume and was told to come down here to fill out a form."

Mei brightened up, immediately retrieving a piece of paper and all but shoving it into your face. "Did you bring your costume?! I'll do it!"

Handing over your briefcase, you quickly filled the form out — in proper Japanese — with all the upgrades you wanted. It wasn't too complicated, and Mei nodded firmly to show that it was possible. "You make it too easy! I'll have it done for sure, I'll get to work on it right now!"

"Wait, doesn't it need teacher approval?"

The teen was already too excited, though, and instead started ushering you out of the classroom, telling you that she would text you when your costume was done.

Shut out of the support workshop, you shook your head once in confusion before heading to your classroom, deciding to get some extra studying in.

On the morning of your first exam, you came in looking ragged, causing Izuku and Ochaco to exclaim out in shock.

"W-what happened to you?!" Izuku asked frantically while you tried to stifle a yawn.

"Studying," was your tired response. "And training. I have a pretty strict schedule for myself so I can improve myself. Go Beyond, Plus Ultra, yeah?"

"Still . . . Will you be okay?"

Shrugging at Ochaco, you sat down in your seat, head nearly hitting the desk. Exhaustion screamed at your entire body, but for once, you didn't care. The last two weeks felt fruitful as you had practiced your new _hatsu_ and studied like crazy.

You could only hope that it would all pay off.


	43. Practicals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unfortunately, your exams aren't fighting robots, and you're stuck facing somebody you never could have imagined.  
> Yeah, you're screwed.

"Only the practicals and we're finally free..." You grumbled, causing Mina to laugh beside you, elbowing you in the ribs.

"Hey, at least they're robots! It'll be a piece of cake!!"

It better be after those past three grueling days.

Dressed in hero costumes, you grinned as Mina and Toru noticed the upgrades to your outfit first, asking you about it.

Honestly, Mei had gone just a _bit_ crazy with your hero fit, but not in a bad way. She had started your costume from scratch, recreating a black, legless bodysuit that resembled a turtleneck. The fabric was thick — Mei had said tear resistant, but you'd have to see about that. Your white jacket was the same, the symbol of the Hunter Association still emblazoned on the back, but this time your jacket had multiple hidden pockets on the inside. Likewise, you had a black utility built secured around your hips — the pockets and pouches hid various different seeds and spores. Your gloves, still black and with the heart cutouts, weren't fingerless anymore — Mei had insisted that having finger grips on your gloves would benefit you more.

Topping the outfit off were a sturdy pair of black combat boots and metal knee pads to protect your knees. The boots were supposed to be made of a light material that would allow you to run faster but, well . . . You weren't too sure about that one.

No matter how much Mina and Toru asked you about your new costume, though, you kept your lips sealed, not wanting to give away your new tricks.

Eventually, you were all gathered in front of the center plaza where the practical exam was supposed to be, and you noticed with suspicion that all your other teachers and then some were in front of the building. You did _not_ get a good feeling off this...

When everybody settled down, Aizawa began to speak. "It is possible to fail this exam," he started seriously. "If you want to go to the training camp, don't make any stupid mistakes. I expect you all have gathered information ahead of time and have an idea of what you'll be doing."

Denki pumped his fists up, excited. "We're fighting robot warriors like the entrance exam, right?"

Popping up from Aizawa's bandages was Nezu, and you almost choked on your spit at the comical sight.

"For various reasons," Nezu started, "the exam will be different starting this term!"

"D-different...?"

Nezu continued on. "From now on, we want to focus on person-to-person combat and hero work, and stress teaching that is closer to actual fighting, so in that case... We'll have you form teams of two to fight one teacher!"

To say that your heart dropped would be an understatement. It _plummeted_. You didn't even know half of the teacher's abilities; this was totally unfair to you!

"In addition," Aizawa added, "the pairs and who each pair will be up against have already been decided. These were determined at my discretion and based on various factors, including fighting style, grades, and interpersonal relationships."

_If I'm with somebody stupid I'm going to literally die._

"Here are the pairs: Todoroki and Yaoyorozu, you two will be up against me."

Continuing on, Aizawa and Nezu listed all the pairs while you waited impatiently for your name to call. Everybody else was paired off, until finally, you were the last one standing, and you stood awkwardly, clearing your throat.

"Um, was a mistake made somewhere...?"

Aizawa's grin widened, and a cold chill shot down your spine as the door behind him opened, somebody else walking forward as Aizawa stepped out of the way to reveal them.

"You'll be fighting me."

Whispers started to break out between your classmates, not that you paid any attention to them. You were frozen in place, a confused smile stuck on your face as your brain tried to figure out if this was some kind of joke or something. When nobody yelled out _'psych!_ ' you had started to sweat.

"He's not a teacher, though!" You tried to argue.

Aizawa shook his head. "Kurapika and I talked this through with the rest of the teachers. To give you an equal chance as the rest of the class, we came to the conclusion it'd be wisest to have you face him alone."

_Alone?!_

Yeah, you thought fighting one of your teachers in a pair was unfair before? This was one hundred times worse. Speaking up louder and ignoring your shocked state, Aizawa introduced Kurapika to the class as a stand-in teacher for the day before explaining the rules. You only half-listened, still in shock at what was literally the unluckiest moment of your life — and yes, that _does_ count winding up in this world, USJ, and Hisoka's entire existence _combined!_

As everybody was told to either go plan a strategy or watch the exams, you watched hopelessly as everybody branched out, with all the teachers and Kurapika leaving to go inside. Meanwhile, you were pretty sure a part of you had died on the inside from the sudden stress you were feeling.

You didn't have much time. While your battle was supposed to be the second to last one, with Izuku and Katsuki after you, you felt like time was crushing hard. You had about 5 hours, give or take a few minutes if each exam ran the whole 30 minutes. Was 5 hours enough to mentally prepare yourself, try out a new _hatsu_ that has never seen combat before, and emerge victorious?

. . . No.

Going to sit on the steps, deciding to stay outside for a bit, you racked your brain, trying to remember all of his abilities. Thankfully, chain jail wasn't something you had to worry about, considering it could only be used on members of the Phantom Troupe, and you would certainly _hope_ he didn't cast judgement chain on you since that would, you know, _kill_ you. He could manipulate his chains, but you swore he had other abilities! There was that healing one, holy chain...

Oh lord, sitting here and thinking about his abilities wasn't helping. You knew he was a conjurer, that much was for certain. 

Lying back on the concrete, you took a deep breath and closed your eyes, trying to focus. Stressing wouldn't help. You needed to conserve your energy, especially if you were up against Kurapika. Most likely, he'd be expecting you to attack head-on — it was your usual style. That would make running away the most logical, but... You did _not_ like the option of that. The problem with Kurapika, though, was that he was both a long range and short-range fighter. He managed to kill _two_ Phantom Troupe members — you weren't stupid enough to think you were in his league at all.

 _This is going to be so embarrassing if I lose to him in front of my classmates_ , you thought bitterly. Kurapika was only your senior by a year. The age gap was tiny, but the difference in abilities was huge considering you had only recently found out your _nen_ type was a lie and was actually debilitating your progress. You were certainly at a disadvantage here.

Could you maybe fake him out? Kurapika was intelligent, so it would be difficult. Ideally, you'd be put in a forest-like arena. Worst case, you'd wind up in either a desert or a frozen wasteland — you had seeds, sure, but you hadn't experimented with your _hatsu_ in different climates. Kurapika didn't know anything about your new _hatsu_ , though — you had an advantage on him in this way. You just had to figure out how to _use_ it.

You needed another brain in on this, and you had a feeling you knew exactly where he'd be. Hearing the announcement of the first team's — Eijiro and Rikido's — defeat, you started to head towards the monitor room.

Sure enough, Izuku was there, waiting with Ochaco and watching. Upon entering, the two had turned to you, and you gave them both a little wave. Nobody else was here except for Recovery Girl — _good_. You could talk freely because all three knew about your origins.

"[Y/n], what are you doing here?" Ochaco asked, and you gave a thin and stressed smile.

"Well, considering I don't have a partner..."

You trailed off, and Ochaco furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Kurapika... Is he from... Where you're from?"

Nodding, you shrugged, your smile dying. "Yeah, and he's insanely strong. Under normal circumstances, I would have no chance to defeat him, but... Well, that's why I'm here." Your eyes trailed over to Izuku, your face serious. "I think I have a plan, but I need help perfecting it, and you're the only one I can really count on..."

Izuku didn't hesitate, although his eyes widened in disbelief as he nodded quickly. "Y-Yeah, I'll help! You're not going to just fight him head-on?"

Maybe if it had been earlier when you had first arrived here, you would have, but now? The encounter with Stain, Hisoka, and Hawk's words had sobered you up a bit. You couldn't continue to be reckless. You _had_ to start using your brain, and contrary to all of the teasing your classmates and friends gave you, you _did_ have one.

"No. In fact... I think I may have a good idea as to what to do."

As pairs came and went, your fight was ticking closer. It seemed each group had their own terrain, and you could feel the increasing anxiety of being put into a disadvantageous arena. Explaining both your new abilities and Kurapika's chains, with help of Izuku and Ochaco, you were somewhat confident about this all.

Well, maybe about 50%. Actually, you were pretty skeptical still.

As the battle of Team Hanta and Minoru was nearing its end, it would be your turn next, and you couldn't help the anxiety that was building up. You were afraid of disappointing everybody. Of failing. What if you couldn't do this after all? With most people done, they were all chilling in the break room or monitor room, with the few exceptions being in the infirmary after Recovery Girl's treatment.

"Yo, [Y/n], who's that Kurapika guy?"

Looking over, you saw Eijirou, who seemed to recover from his defeat decently well, if not seeming a bit bummed about it. "He's an old friend," you explained, looking over at an even more bummed Denki. "Remember those two I was telling you about on our date, Leorio and Kurapika? That's the one and only."

"Hold up, you two went on a date?!"

Ignoring Eijirou's outburst and the various looks it drew on — you could even see Izuku from the corner of your eyes start blushing and stammering — Denki perked up, nodding.

"He's the one who burned Leorio, right?"

You laughed, nodding. "Yep, that's him!"

Butting into the conversation was Kyoka. "You think you can take him on? He doesn't look that strong."

Your expression dimmed, and you thought back onto your training with Kurapika. Right now, you had the element of surprise — he was more physically _and_ mentally capable than you were. _Could_ you take him on? That was the big question here.

"I don't know," you honestly replied. "He's strong. _Very_ strong. And his abilities..." You trailed off, growing somber. This was certainly going to be a difficult fight, a test of your wits, strength, and resolve. You may very well lose if you make even the tiniest slip up.

Hearing a couple of cheers, you averted your gaze to the monitor to see that Minoru’s and Hanta’s team won against Midnight, signaling you to be next. Great. Giving a half-hearted wave to your friends, they all cheered you on from behind as you left the monitor, heading to your designated testing site.

"Good luck, [Y/n]!"

You were tense but managed a nod as your name was called, leaving to the terrain you'd be fighting in. As the fights had progressed, it was quick to see that each group had their own terrain. Some fought in cities, some fought in ruins, some fought in the woods, some fought in wastelands. You weren't sure what to expect as you went to the one you were supposed to, but nothing could have prepared you for what was here.

A gasp left your mouth at the swamp, your eyes watering up immediately. It was almost an exact replica of the Milsy Wetlands, better known as Swindler's Swamp due to its precarious nature. It was also where you had first encountered Hisoka in battle, had taken part of the first phase of the Hunter Exam. To you, right now, it was home.

Knowing you couldn't be by the exit, you wandered in through the fog, going into a clearing. The mist around you swirled, not only giving you cover, but obscuring your own sight. From somewhere above, Present Mic's voice boomed, nearly startling you.

"Freecss [Y/n] . . . Your practical exam starts... _NOW!_ "


	44. Advantages

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fighting against Kurapika is a terrifying endeavor. Good thing you have a few tricks up your sleeves.

With the fog hanging thickly in the air, obscuring your vision, you _knew_ you were at a disadvantage. You weren't disillusioned enough to believe you could hold your own in a head-on match with Kurapika. His _nen_ skills were almost legendary, and his quick thinking made him a formidable opponent. Factoring in that he knew you well and had constantly and consistently kicked your ass at your internship with Hawks... Well, you were definitely in for a rough time.

You couldn't sense Kurapika at all. No doubt he was concealing his presence with _zetsu_ , and with you only able to see less than a full meter ahead of you, finding him would be difficult. If his eyes turned scarlet, it'd only be worse for you. Considering how strong he already was... He didn't need that extra help. Making him use his specialist abilities was downright suicidal, and you figured it would be safer to just _not_.

What all had you learned? You had trained under _Biscuit Freaking Krueger_ , yet you could remember nothing. Your brain had gone completely blank, and for a moment you turned around in circles, trying to regain your composure.

Unlike Gon, you couldn't smell people out. Well, you could, your sense of smell was still above others, but nowhere _near_ Gon's level. You accepted that, usually — your hearing was better than Gon's, his sense of smell was better than your own. It was a fair trade-off, right?

Didn't matter right now, though, because dwelling on it was not going to help your predicament.

Taking a deep breath, you closed your eyes. You had this in the bag — you just needed to stay focused. Unknown to your examiners, you were placed in the perfect environment to test out your new _hatsu_ , and you were going to prove once and for all that you were not to be underestimated. If Kurapika thought he knew exactly what you were going to do, then you can use that to your advantage, right? Lure him into a false sense of security?

With your nerves calmed, you opened your eyes again, using _gyo_ immediately. He can hide his presence, but you didn't _think_ he could hide his chains since they were conjured with aura. However, you were either wrong, or he didn't have his chains out yet.

"Are you even around here?"

Your exasperated tone must have triggered the start, because as soon as you spoke you felt the air shift around you. Turning on your heels, you brought your arms up just in time to take the brunt of Kurapika's kick. It certainly saved you the pain you would have felt if his foot had connected with your stomach, but it was still strong enough to knock you off your feet. Tumbling backwards, you skidded across the grass. You were definitely going to have grass stains on your outfit, great. Mei had just made this for you!

"Are you planning on fighting me head-on like always?"

His voice wasn't condescending; just thoughtful. Standing up, you looked around — once again, he had disappeared into the haze.

 _What would Izuku do...?_ He always had a knack for getting himself out of precarious situations, and you thought hard about it before taking in a deep breath. If you can't see, get rid of the fog! You had copied Izuku's moves before, so it's not like it was a first, anyways!

Gathering your _ren_ , aura gusting around you, you made sure to focus it around your fist with _ko_. Enhancer you may not be, it was an easy enough technique you had done many times as you punched the ground. Immediately, wind gusted upwards, and the ground beneath you cracked, leaving a small crater around you.

And more importantly — the ever-present mist had dissipated, going upwards before vanishing. It wouldn't be long until it was back, but you were able to take in your surroundings better.

As thought, you were in a small clearing surrounded by trees and various flora. Kurapika, who had sensed your intentions right before you had punched the ground, had jumped back. You could see him perched in the tree, and with another quick assessment of _gyo_ , you confirmed he was currently not using his _hatsu_. He was blocking your path to the exit, however, but that was fine. Hopefully.

"This reminds me of the Milsy Wetlands. From the Hunter Exam."

Kurapika hummed, gray eyes watching you warily. "In the Visca Forest Preserve. Thankfully, without the magical beasts."

You weren't sure what the Visca Forest Preserve was, you hadn't really paid too much attention to the examiner, Satotz, but considering Kurapika's knowledge on almost everything... Well, you were just going to have to take his word for it.

He jumped down from the tree, coming back into the clearing in a languid manner. Despite the ease of how he moved, though, you knew his guard was still up. You got into a fighting stance, and he let out an almost inaudible sigh at your actions. "You're really going to fight me?"

You grinned, tensing up all your leg muscles. "Hm... Nope!"

With that said, you vanished, darting off to the side as the fog started to condense near the ground again. Soon, it would build up, and that was fine — you needed the cover, more so than what the trees could provide you. 

With the fog obscuring your vision, especially with your feet, you hadn't seen the gnarly tree root sticking out, and you tripped, face planting with your mouth open. Standing up and shaking your wrists in pain, you spluttered and spat out grass and dirt, proceeding to wipe your mouth on your shirt. That was _disgusting_. At least the fog was so thick that you were sure nobody had seen that in the monitor room. Nose still scrunched up in distaste, you swung yourself up into the trees, figuring it would be safer and your view would be better up here as you activated your _zetsu_ to conceal your presence. This should be good enough, and soon, you began to weave your own trap, all while looping around, hoping fruitlessly that you may be lucky enough to sneak around Kurapika.

You were genuinely excited to finally try your new _hatsu_ in an actual, combative setting. That rat of a teacher had left you believing you had been an enhancer, and so all your techniques, your abilities, your style — it was all based off that fact that you were an enhancer. In the end, it had only been a detriment to your progression. Your new _hatsu_ , would have never been possible if Kurapika hadn't opened your eyes.

You really owed him.

Inhale.

Exhale.

At once, you dropped your _zetsu_ , feeling out with your _en_. You weren't planning on fighting fist-to-fist — but you weren't going to run, either. Within moments, Kurapika would be able to sense you out, and that was fine. Perched up in the tree, sitting cross legged on a particularly thick branch, you closed your eyes and waited. Keeping an eye out was useless. The fog had already begun to settle again, obscuring the ground before fading only half a meter below you. If Kurapika was on the ground, you'd have to hope you could detect him, because you sure as hell weren't going to see him.

He was using _zetsu._ You knew he was nearby, but where? Kurapika wasn't the type to run in reckless, he would think out every possibility. Opening your eyes and peering down in the fog, you saw the dense air shift just slightly. Swinging backwards — and almost rocketing off the branch you were on in the process — you dodged the chain that shot out. With a grip so tight that the bark of the tree dug splinters into your gloved fingers, you swung yourself down. 

Maybe Mei was right in making sure your gloves weren't fingerless.

Just barely could you make out the outline of Kurapika. This meant he could probably see you too, and if not, he could certainly sense your presence considering you weren't trying to hide it at all.

"What happened to not fighting head-on? Do you really not learn from your mistakes at all?"

Kurapika's voice sounded more disappointed than anything, as if he had expected and hoped better of you.

Snorting, you both started to circle each other, almost completely obscured by the fog. "Come on, have more faith in me, Pika," you said, the blond choking for a moment at your nickname. God, you wish you could see his face — no doubt, he was probably flushed. "You think that I _don't_ learn from my lessons?"

Kurapika hummed. "It certainly doesn't seem like it. So, if you're not going to fight, what do you plan on doing? Trickery won't work, and if you run again, I can just as easily catch you."

He was confident, almost arrogant, but it was easily hidden by his deadpan tone. Honestly, he sounded too cool for you to be irritated.

"I never said I wasn't going to fight you," you pointed out, eyes narrowing in on his figure. Or more importantly, at the ground beneath his feet. "I just said that I had learned from my lessons."

Before he could question it, you had made your move, knowing there was no way for Kurapika to dodge it. You had already, figuratively speaking, planted the seeds of your trap.

Well, literally, too, you guessed.

By infusing your _nen_ in plant seeds, and scattering them across the ground, Kurapika had unknowingly stepped into your trap, and at once vines sprouted, the branches winding around Kurapika and effectively creating a sturdy cage. Even better, was that you had done plenty of research about plants for your _nen_ — the vines around Kurapika, unfortunately (for him), were made from a Virginia Creeper. The perfect plant for capturing somebody, considering their branches secreted an adhesive that allowed for them to stick to everything.

With the sudden burst of plant life, the fog had parted, and you quickly dashed forward with the handcuffs you had been given at the start of the exam. The look on Kurapika's face...

It was _priceless_. You had never seen him look so shocked before! Unfortunately, he was a pro at quick thinking, and you had to slide underneath a cluster of green leaves as chains shot towards you. Funneling your _nen_ into the ground, the grass around Kurapika's ankles crept up his legs, weaving together to create stronger blades of grass and to prevent him from moving. Not having suspected that, Kurapika had tried to take a step back at the same time, winding up toppling backwards from the _nen_ -infused grass.

You wasted no time. Grabbing the wrist with the chains, you had reached over to put the handcuffs around his wrist. Immediately, even though he was still trying to regain his balance, he had whipped his arm up, pulling you over his head in an arch. Your back broke through some of your vines before hitting the ground roughly, a loud grunt of pain escaping your lips. That one _definitely_ was going to leave some nasty bruises.

Letting go of his wrist, you managed to roll to the side just as more chains shot out. He had regained his balance but couldn't fully turn around with the grass-rope still confining his legs. Before he could break out or attack again, you kicked a leg out, kicking him right behind the knee. His legs immediately folded in on themselves from the force, and you launched yourself off the ground. He was already on his knees but had no time to get up as you had literally tackled him. The force of your little stunt had sent you both skidding across the ground as the blades of grass finally snapped, with Kurapika underneath you.

You were reminded of Eijirou in this position, when you had been training with him. Unlike Eijirou, though, Kurapika gave himself no time to fully comprehend the position, shoving you off him aggressively. Putting a hand on the ground, you tried to do the same thing earlier with the grass, but Kurapika was one step ahead of you, rolling over on top of you in an attempt to pin you to the ground.

For a moment, the two of you grappled fruitlessly, and you jerked your head forwards, headbutting him. Trying to ignore the throbbing in your own head, as Kurapika recoiled you shoved him off. With the moment of freedom, you stood up at the same time as Kurapika, only for his chains to shoot out and swipe your legs out from underneath you.

Your back and head collided hard with the ground behind you, and for a moment, your vision tinged black, growing lightheaded. No. _No_. You were _not_ going to lose when you were so close, had gotten so far! Squinting blearily, Kurapika blurry in front of you, you heard him speak. Your ears were ringing too loudly though for you to fully comprehend.

"-ve up?"

At your lack of response, he had started to cautiously approach you. In a split second, you force your leg up, kicking at his shins to knock him down. Instead of going backwards, Kurapika had staggered forwards, and you instinctively flinched as he fell on top of you. When you didn't feel the impact, you opened your eyes to see that he had caught himself — just barely. Both arms were braced on either side of your head, holding him up inches above yourself. Your eyes immediately met his, and for a moment you froze at his expression. His face was a brighter red than you had ever seen his eyes, completely freezing up. His lips parted to say something, hot breath fanning over your face, but words didn't come out.

Any closer, and you two would[...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ)

You blinked, breaking out of the trance moments before Kurapika did. In a moment of sheer desperation, you rolled over so you were on top of Kurapika, capturing his wrist in an iron-like grip as the _clink_ of the handcuffs echoed off the trees.

Panting and tired, you grinned triumphantly down at Kurapika, who still seemed dazed but at least a bit more aware as his eyes slowly left yours and trailed over to his wrist.

"Victory, I believe," you started, out of breath, "is mine."

"Did you _seriously_ have to pull a trick like that?" Grumbling beside you was Aizawa, looking less than pleased by the fight. Honestly, in your defense, you thought the thick fog was going to prevent people from watching it. You hadn't realized that the cameras could pick up through the mist for the most part, so everybody in the monitor room saw it all. Including you eating grass.

Laughing sheepishly, you gave him an abashed smile. "I mean, I won, right? And it's not like I _meant_ for him to fall on top of me like that."

Aizawa fixed you with a gaze that made him seem somewhat dead inside, but before he could continue to berate you for putting yourself and Kurapika into such a suggestive position, Recovery Girl came into the infirmary, looking you over once.

"I'm surprised you're not as injured," she said wryly, and you pouted at the rebuke. At least you weren't as bad as Izuku! And speaking of which... His and Katsuki's fight against All Might should be going on right now. And knowing those two...

"Am I free to go, then?" You asked Recovery Girl. You had a feeling she was going to need the infirmary space for those reckless idiots, and she seemed to think the same way as she sighed.

"Go on, dearie. I'm sure I'll have my hands full in a bit, anyways, those two..."

She trailed off, and you couldn't help but feel bad for the old lady as you hopped off the bed cheerily, following Aizawa out of the infirmary. Waiting outside the door was Kurapika, leaning up against the wall with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. The moment you two stepped out into the hallway and his eyes met yours, he had immediately turned red, coughing into his sleeve and looking away.

Why did he have to be so embarrassed about what happened? You two were fighting, nothing was off the table when it was life-or-death (even if your fight hadn't really been _life-or-death_ ). Unless he was embarrassed he got his ass handed to him?

"I just wanted to congratulate you. That was... Unexpected."

Aizawa had shot Kurapika an inscrutable look that you couldn't decipher, but you didn't care. Instead, you grabbed his hand, starting to drag him to the monitor room, knowing that's where everybody would be to see the most interesting fight of the exams.

"Come on, Pika! It's time for you to meet my friends!"

Giving him no time to protest, you dragged him along, a new and optimistic fervor in your step at the thought that you did it. 

You passed your exams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aka millie doesn't know how to write fight scenes :')


	45. Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your friends meet Kurapika, and are once again confronted about your past. Elsewhere, Gon and Killua meet up with an old friend, and the League of Villains' plans are set into motion.

"So, you're from Freecss' hometown?"

Surrounded by students, Kurapika shot you an uneasy look, unsure how to handle everybody's nosy nature. It was a good thing Katsuki and Izuku weren't here, or else it'd be even _more_ chaotic. Their fight had ended and both teens were in the infirmary, as per usual. Now, you all were back in the classroom, with you and your Kurta friend the center of attention. Ochaco, who knew the truth about your past, gave you a bubbly smile that made you realize that she was definitely going to be questioning the two of you later.

Swinging an arm around Kurapika's shoulder, the latter spluttering lightly, you grinned. "Yep! He's one of the strongest people I know!"

Shouto, who was off to the side, seemed skeptical. Him and Tenya had briefly met Kurapika, and both teens were staring harshly into Kurapika as if trying to decipher him. You tried to ignore them, feeling a tiny wave of anxiety roll through you. Hopefully they wouldn't approach and ask questions, you weren't sure you'd be able to dodge Shouto a third time.

The rest of the Bakusquad in particular were all interested in Kurapika, Mina wiggling her eyebrows. "So, are you and [Y/n] a thing? That would totally explain why she's rejected everybody else's advances!"

You and Kurapika had very different reactions.

Kurapika immediately flushed, denying Mina's invasive question as you laughed, nearly wheezing. Retracting your arm from Kurapika's shoulder, you had doubled over. "Oh god — Mina, why?!"

She joined you in laughter, nudging your side with her elbow. "Aw, I'm just kidding! I know you have only eyes for me anyways."

Deciding to play along, you gave her a wide grin. "I'm glad you know that I'll stay loyal to you, wifey!"

The two of you started laughing again, until a new voice spoke up from behind.

"Whoa, Freecss and Ashido? That's hot!"

You didn't have to look back to know that Hanta had immediately hit Minoru, taping his mouth shut in the process.

Good riddance.

After answering a whole lot of questions about his quirk, Kurapika had decided it was enough and had told everybody that he needed to leave. That meant you were going along, too, and after bidding everybody 'goodbye', the two of you had left the building.

"[Y/n], Kurapika!"

The two of you looked back to see Ochaco running forward, her cheeks a bit redder than usual. When she caught up to you, you gave Kurapika a sheepish smile.

"Um, don't worry, Pika. She, uh, knows about our world."

Kurapika gave you a disapproving stare in return, and Ochaco laughed cheerily, waving her hands around. "Don't worry, I haven't said a single thing to anybody, and only Deku and I know!"

"Deku...?"

Ignoring Kurapika's confusion, you laughed weakly. "Uh... Katsuki's figured it out, too...."

"BAKUGOU?!"

You winced at Ochaco's surprised yell, covering your ears in reflex. "He won't tell anybody, don't worry!"

"He's not the only one who figured it out."

That came from neither Ochaco nor Kurapika, and you three turned to see two more newcomers. Tenya and Shouto. You could feel your blood freeze, and Ochaco started to sweat, waving her hands around. "Th-there's nothing to figure out!" She tried to cover for you, but it was no use. Tenya and Shouto both looked serious, and you could tell they knew for certain. But _how_ . . . ?

A hand was placed on your shoulder, startling you as the owner's voice spoke up. Kurapika's voice was stoic. ". . . Let's not talk here. There are too many people who could overhear."

About half an hour later, the five of you were at Kurapika's apartment. It was close to Aizawa's and minimalist, with the bare minimum to survive. All of you sat around a kotatsu he had purchased, crowded slightly. Due to it being almost summer, the kotatsu wasn't on.

"How did you two find out?" You skipped the small talk, too curious to know _how_. Just a few days ago, Shouto was convinced you were a former villain in hiding. What had changed? Shouto and Tenya exchanged looks, before Shouto nodded, deciding to be the one to speak. Pulling out his phone, he pulled up a picture and showed the photo to you, Kurapika, and Ochaco. While Kurapika didn't recognize it, yours and Ochaco's eyes lit up in recognition.

"That's..."

"Midoriya's hero notebook," Shouto confirmed. "I asked to borrow it, and saw the notes on your 'quirk'... Or should I say, _nen_?"

You grimaced. You had willingly gave Izuku all of that information because he was curious, and you knew he wouldn't ever use it against you. However, you had broken down every aspect of _nen_ to him. Of _course_ he'd write all about it! It was a good thing Shouto was the one to find it and not somebody else.

Oh god, if a villain got ahold of Izuku's notebook...!

Tenya took over with an affirmative _chop_ of his arm. "I approached Midoriya after Hosu, but he immediately started to stammer and ran off when I mentioned you and the strange villain dressed in clown attire."

Ochaco butt in, eyes widening. "Hisoka?!"

Oh, that was right. She hadn't a clue as to what happened in Hosu, and Kurapika was looking more and more tired by the moment. "Uh, Hisoka had approached me, Izuku, and Ochaco right after the sport's festival," you quickly explained to the three others before turning back to Ochaco. "And, uh, it turns out he's with the League of Villains and they want to capture me or something?"

Ochaco looked pale, her bottom lip quivering, and you quickly changed the subject. "Uh, go on, Tenya!"

He looked back and forth between you and Ochaco before nodding. "As I was saying, Midoriya dodged all of my questions in a very suspicious way. When I approached Todoroki, he agreed something was up, but neither of us could figure it out exactly. _Until_ ," he chopped his arm down, "I happened to accidentally overhear a bit of yours and Bakugou's conversation. I apologize for that, as I know eavesdropping is disrespectful, but I couldn't make heads or tails of what I had heard, and that is when Todoroki brought up Midoriya's notebook."

You felt a bit nauseous, realizing they had found out due to the accumulation of all of your slip-ups. Hisoka, Izuku and his notebook, your confession to Katsuki...

"I admit, we approached the situation in a somewhat underhanded way, and I apologize again. However, you and Midoriya were very tight-lipped, and Todoroki and I were afraid it could affect everybody's safety."

Sighing, you leaned back, hands on the floor to keep you from falling all the way back. It was silent for only a moment. "I _told_ you we should just tell everybody," you pointed out to Kurapika. The blond shot you a look of complete annoyance, and you pointedly ignored it. "Everybody in our class is way too smart. I'm sure they aren't the only ones catching on, and it's unfair to keep a secret from them like this. Especially with Chrollo and Hisoka and some other _nen_ mastermind behind the scenes."

Kurapika exhaled wearily. "Maybe if you didn't make so many slip-ups..." This was more to himself than you, but you still heard it, huffing in indignation. He continued, rubbing his temples. ". . . But it makes sense. I'll talk to Aizawa about this."

You hadn't been expecting him to agree with you, and you lit up. "Really?!"

"What other choice do I have? Clearly, you can't keep a secret."

You stuck your tongue out at him childishly before turning to you Shouto and Tenya, giving them an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry for keeping this from you..."

Tenya shook his head once. "Don't apologize, Freecss. You were doing what you were supposed to do."

Shrugging listlessly, you gave one more glance to Ochaco and Kurapika, before bracing your elbows on the kotatsu table and resting your head in your hands. "I suppose... I guess since the secret is out, though, I can tell you guys everything from the beginning. It started when my brother Gon and our friend, Killua, were playing _Greed Island_..."

* * *

**_Elsewhere in Musutafu..._ **

"Agh, we've searched this entire part of the city! This is so frustrating!"

Currently sitting in a café were two boys, no older than 13 — Gon Freecss and Killua Zoldyck. Having been in Musutafu for a week, they had reached dead end after dead end. It was obvious [Y/n] was around here, somewhere, but where? Gon had tried smelling her out at some point, but her scent always seemed to fade quickly, most likely due to the fact the city was bustling with people every minute of the day. Neither teen was good with using _en_ , either, so detecting her _nen_ from far away was a no-go.

Sipping on an iced chocolate drink, Killua looked agitated himself, more so at the fact that he had ran around this stupid city for nothing. "When we find that old hag, I'm going to beat her up," he grumbled, and Gon sighed, his strawberry-banana parfait already gone.

"Should we head back over to the meet-up spot? Leorio is supposed to be here soon, and we don't know how long that portal will stay open..."

Grumbling more, Killua shrugged. "We might as well," he said, pulling some yen coins out of his pocket. It had been a strange adjustment here, what with the different written language and the currency and geography differences, but the two were quick to catch up. Killua had stolen a man's wallet to get the money, sure, but what else could one expect from two teens stranded in a whole other world?

Leaving enough money, Killua and Gon left the café, heading back to the portal they had come out of. Sure enough, standing by in the decrepit alley way, brief case and all, was none other than their friend Leorio Paladiknight.

Shortly after [Y/n]'s disappearance, Gon and Killua had both left the game to contact first Kurapika, and then Leorio, for help. Kurapika hadn't answered his phone, surprise surprise, but Leorio did. After talking and explaining to Leorio what happened, they had gone back to Bisky, who had explained the urban legends surrounding different worlds and their connections.

It was honestly all confusing, especially for Gon, but one thing was for certain — they had to get [Y/n] back to her world before things got bad. Bisky had admitted even she doesn't know much about this "world nonsense", and it had been sheer luck that a portal outside of Greed Island had been found. Immediately, Gon and Killua had called Leorio to fill him in and send him their location, agreeing to meet up in a week's time if the portal was still there to search for [Y/n]. It would have been sooner, but Leorio was on the other side of the world and could only go so fast.

"Is this really another world?" Leorio asked in agitation, looking around. "It looks like York New City!"

"Moron," Killua said immediately, his words stabbing into Leorio. "You haven't even been here for an hour. If this was York New City, we wouldn't have asked for your help. _Moron_."

Leorio heatedly opened his mouth to yell at Killua, but a weird, static-like noise permeated through the alley. Looking back, the three watched as the portal slowly shrank before disappearing into thin air, and Leorio nearly fell down.

"Damn it all, now we're stuck here!"

Killua matched Leorio's irritation, but Gon was undeterred, looking at both with a determined gleam in his eye. "That's fine! We can't leave here until we get [Y/n], anyways!"

Killua and Leorio exchanged looks of exasperation before nodding, a determined smile on Leorio's face and an exasperated one on Killua's.

"Alright, let's go!" Leorio exclaimed, and the three left the alley, only for Leorio to stop and gape at the view around him, from the people to the buildings.

Gon laughed, grabbing Leorio's hand and started to lead him down the street towards the hotel they had managed to get a room at. It had taken a lot of convincing and stolen money, but the two had gotten a pretty nice place to sleep for the time being, especially since they didn't have much to their name.

"We have a lot to tell you about! This world is so different to ours!" Sure, some things were surprising, but after spending a week here and grilling people on information, they had solved some of the mysteries. It didn't help they couldn't search anything up on the internet — the written language here was tricky, although Killua had been quick to point out that one of their alphabets was the exact same as one from their own world. Having to decipher everything though... Well, that was pretty time-consuming, and time was something that was currently against them.

They needed to find [Y/n] before the next portal opened.

Getting to the hotel, a towering building that put the ones in York New City to shame, Gon and Killua waved at the hotel clerk before leading Leorio into the elevator to go up. The guy Killua had stolen from had quite a lot of cash, apparently, securing them a temporary place to live, food, and supplies. They almost got cell phones, but had decided against it. There was no point in having any communication devices if they couldn't read anything on them to begin with, and their own mobiles didn't have service here. It was understandable — they weren't in the same world, so the signals would be different.

Gawking around the hotel room, Leorio shook his head. "How did you kids manage to stay here?"

They both gave cheeky smiles — well, Gon's was a bit sheepish as he scratched his cheek. "Eh, Killua, where do we start?"

The white-haired teen sighed, picking up a notebook from the desk, his neat handwriting printed in the book. In their own language, of course.

"In this world, hunters, _nen —_ none of that exists. Instead, people have something called 'quirks', which are abilities they are born with. Where we are..."

Killua drawled on, explaining everything they had learned about this world in detail, but even as Leorio's mind soaked in all the information like a sponge, there was just one thing he couldn't stop wondering about.

How in the hell were they going to find [Y/n]?

* * *

In a dingy bar, hidden off the streets deep in Yokohama, Tokyo, there was a small group of people. From the outside, it looked like the typical, seedy, hole-in-the-wall bar that everybody knew to avoid. In a sense, it _was_. Closed off from the public, very few were allowed into the bar.

"These two are our targets."

Pointing at the two pictures was Shigaraki Tomura, leader of the League of Villains, and currently, very irritated. He hadn't quite wanted to get new members, but Giran, Kurogiri, _and_ his sensei had all persisted, not to mention Pariston Hill — one of their otherworldly visitors — had insisted that they needed all the muscle they could get.

In the end, they had quite the ragtag group of people, with three other people from Pariston's world. Pariston refused to necessarily go out and fight on this mission, but their three other guests would work just as well. Shigaraki wasn't going to get his hopes up, though — he didn't know or trust any of these people, least of all _Pariston_. He may have helped a lot with information and putting _nen_ into their nomus, but there was something about him that made him untrustworthy, even by a villain's standards. He was the kind of sleazy guy who would turn his back on their allies in an instant if it was for their own entertainment, even more so than Hisoka Morow, one of the other _nen_ users.

"Oo, oo, I call the girl with the [h/c] hair! She's so pretty!"

Beady red eyes falling on the blonde who spoke up, Shigaraki glowered. " _Your_ job is to get as much blood from as many different people as possible." The blonde, Toga Himiko, looked put down but agreed, if not a bit pouty about it.

Somebody else spoke up, leaning against the crumbling door frame with a cane in his hands. "And it's safe to assume you don't want us to interact with them until the camp?"

Shigaraki gave a terse nod towards the other villain, Mr. Compress. He couldn't see his face, covered by a geometric mask, but Shigaraki wasn't one to talk since he had a decapitated hand covering his own face.

"I suppose it's time to lift your _nen_ curse, Chrollo," Pariston sighed as if it was a big letdown, but it was only natural. They couldn't send him out into battle without his abilities, and Pariston was getting his end of the bargain.

While the villains had been made aware of the other world and such, hearing about the terms and seeing _nen_ in action was still a bit perturbing. Even now, as Chrollo calmly stepped forward, donning a sleeveless black shirt and matching slacks and boots, the villains either showed clear interest or disdain.

Pariston was no _nen_ exorcist, but he was proficient enough to remove the chain on Chrollo's heart, the word of law that Kurapika had bestowed on him. Hands glowing an uncharacteristically light teal, Pariston's hands went transparent before both phased into Chrollo's chest. While it should have brought discomfort, Chrollo remained stoic, the beginnings of a smile barely noticeable on his lips. A few people leaned forwards, all eyes on the interesting scene before them.

After a moment, Pariston withdrew his hands, a blackened cross coming out with it. As soon as the blond's hands went back to normal, the cross dissolved in his hands, crumbling away into dust. His brown eyes glinted in amusement, and he met Chrollo's thoughtful gray ones.

No words needed to be said. The moment the cross was removed, Chrollo had felt the shift, and had unflinchingly activated _ten_ as a test. When nothing happened, a smaller smile came onto his face, cunning and introspective.

With his _nen_ back, the plans for the League of Villains could go on to the next stage.


	46. Incorrect Quotes 2.0 — Crack Chapter

**[Y/n]:** Can you not?  
 **Mineta:** Can I not what? All I'm doing is standing here breathing.  
 **[Y/n]:** _Exactly._

* * *

 **[Y/n]:** Dadzawa, I screwed up big time...  
 **Aizawa:** Given your daily life experiences, you're going to have to be more specific.

* * *

 **[Y/n]:** I'm so glad we're on the same page!  
 **Kurapika:** No, we are _not_ on the same page. We're not in the same book, or even the same library!

* * *

 **[Y/n]:** What time is it?  
 **Kaminari:** I dunno, pass me that recorder.  
 **[Y/n] passes recorder:**  
 **Kaminari plays recorder extremely loud:**  
 **Bakugou:** WHO THE FUCK IS PLAYING THE FUCKING RECORDER AT 2AM?!  
 **Kaminari:** It's 2am.

* * *

 **Iida:** You have seven chairs and ten people, what do you do?  
 **Uraraka:** Have everybody stand!  
 **Midoriya:** Bring three more chairs.  
 **[Y/n]:** I sit first and let everybody else duke it out.  
 **Bakugou:** Kill three.

* * *

 **[Y/n]:** YO, Aizawa, what goes up but never comes down?  
 **Aizawa:** The amount of stress you bring upon me.

* * *

 **Hisoka:** Ah, guess what I'm about to get <3  
 **[Y/n]:** On my fucking nerves?

* * *

 **Bisky:** How did none of you hear what I just said?  
 **[Y/n]:** I've been zoned out for the past two hours.  
 **Gon:** I got distracted halfway through.  
 **Killua:** Ignoring you was a conscious decision I made.

* * *

 **[Aizawa, trying to get the class pumped up for training]  
Aizawa:** Who's got the guts to tell me off? Who's gonna tell me off?  
 **Bakugou:** Shut the hell up!  
 **Aizawa:** That's it, Bakugou. That's it. Who's gonna beat him?  
 **Mina:** Get outta here, stupid ass!  
 **Aizawa:** Yes, that's it!  
 **Kirishima:** You're a joke! You're the worst teacher I've ever met!  
 **Aizawa:** Kirishima, that's great. I like the delivery because I felt your anger.  
 **Jirou:** You're a loser and you have body odor.  
 **Aizawa:** Okay, okay, now is everyone nice and pissed off?  
 **Class 1-A:** YEAH.  
 **[Y/n]:** _raises hand_  
 **Aizawa:** Freecss?  
 **[Y/n]:** You.  
 **Aizawa:** Freecss, we've already told me off, it's time to move on.  
 **[Y/n]:** You're tacky and I hate you.  
 **Aizawa:** Okay, Freecss, see me after class.

* * *

 **[Y/n], climbing onto a roof:** GUYS I'M GONNA DO A BACKFLIP ONTO THIS TRAMPOLINE!!  
 **Midoriya and Uraraka, chasing her:** [Y/n] NO!  
 **Mina, Sero, and Kaminari:** Go, [Y/n], Go!  
 **Todoroki, leaning over to Kurapika:** Bet you 500 yen she breaks her leg.  
 **Kurapika:** Bet you 1,000 that she breaks her neck.  
 **Jirou, looking into the camera like in The Office:** I need new friends.

* * *

 **Shigaraki:** Empty altruism won't save you now. Any last words?  
 **[Y/n]:** Yeah, what's altruism?

* * *

 **Hisoka:** Am I dressed alright? <3  
 **[Y/n]:** The answer to that has _never_ been 'yes'.

* * *

 **Aizawa:** You have to treat everybody's views, no matter what they believe, with equal respect.  
 **[Y/n]:** What? Even idiots?

* * *

 **Leorio trying to get Kurapika to practice self-care:** Water can solve all of your problems. Dehydration? Water. Losing weight? Water. Clear skin? Water.  
 **[Y/n], hanging upside-down from the hotel bed:** Tired of someone? Drown them.

* * *

 **[Y/n]:** So, Shouto, what's your type?  
 **Todoroki:** Silky [h/c] hair, confident, brave, from another world, pretty oblivious.  
 **[Y/n]:** WHAT?! There's somebody else from another world?! I want to meet her!  
 **Todoroki:** Did I mention oblivious?  
 **[Y/n]:** Yeah, I got that!  
 **Todoroki:** . . . Add in dumbass, too.

* * *

 **Leorio:** Wait for it, wait for it... 9:01. Kurapika is officially late for the first time ever. Alright, let's do this. Who's got theories?  
 **Gon:** His alarm clock didn't go off?  
 **Leorio:** All three alarm clocks, all with battery backups? Come on, who's gonna take this seriously?  
 **Killua:** Maybe he was taken in his sleep.  
 **Leorio:** That's what I'm talking about! Super dark, Killua, but definitely more plausible than Gon's idiotic alarm clock theory.  
 **[Y/n]:** I bet he tucked himself too tight in his bed and got stuck.

* * *

 **Chrollo:** Last I heard, you couldn't use _nen_ for a while.  
 **Chrollo:** But now it seems you can, again.  
 **[Y/n]:** And last I heard, you were a little bitch.  
 **[Y/n]:** That doesn't seem to have changed, though.

* * *

 **Chrollo:** Is this the part where you say that if I hurt her, you'll kill me?  
 **Kurapika:** No, [Y/n] is perfectly capable of killing you herself.

* * *

 **Aizawa:** I've known these kids for a day and a half.  
 **Aizawa:** But if anything happened to them, I'd kill everybody in this room, and then myself.

* * *

 **All Might:** Please keep an eye on Mineta today, he's going to say the wrong thing to somebody - probably [Y/n], again - and get punched.  
 **Aizawa:** Oh sure, I'd love to see Mineta get punched.  
 **All Might:** Try again.  
 **Aizawa:** Oh, I'll stop Mineta from getting punched.  
 **All Might:** Correct!


	47. Never a Moment of Rest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unfortunately, a new villain has come into this world, and you finally get to make the choice you've been wanting to make.

Bouncing in your seat nervously, you waited with everybody else in a tense silence to see who all had passed and would make it to the training camp in the woods. You were absolutely confident you passed the practical, but the written portion...

Well, you had been certain you passed those, too! You had studied so hard, it couldn't have all been for naught!

Around you, a few people in particular were gloomy — Eijirou, Rikido, Mina, and Denki specifically, since they all definitely did not pass the practical. Izuku had tried to cheer them up to no avail, and now you were all waiting impatiently for Aizawa to speak as he stood in front of the class, as stoic as ever.

"Unfortunately, we did have some people who didn't pass."

_Not me, though!_

"As for the training camp in the woods... Everybody's going!"

You let out a sigh of relief, shaking your head. Leave it to Aizawa to pull a bullshit twist like that, but you weren't about to complain. As your other classmates cheered, you sank back in your seat in relief.

"While some failed the practical, only one student failed the written exam."

_Poor Denki, and he probably studied super hard!_

"Freecss."

_It must suck to —_

You froze, smile stuck on your face.

"I what?"

"You failed your written exams."

Well _shit_.

"Aww, cheer up, [Y/n]! At least we all still get to go to the summer training camp! _And_ we're going to the mall tomorrow!"

Currently eating lunch with the Bakusquad — Hanta, Mina, Denki, Eijirou, and Katsuki — you were currently drooping in disappointment.

"I studied so hard, only to fail every portion of the written exams except for math..." Talk about a blow to your ego. You could already hear the stern lectures that Kurapika was going to give you when he found out just how bad you had done, and that was not a conversation you were looking forward to.

Scoffing as he ate his food, Katsuki fixed you with a level glare. "Maybe if you weren't such an air-headed idiot, you would have fucking passed."

Drooping even more, you shoved your tray away and leaned your head against the table.

"An air-headed idiot, huh...."

"OI, Bakugou, look what you did! You made it worse!"

As Denki and Katsuki started to argue, Mina poked at your cheek, making you turn your head so you could face her. She grinned, leaning down slightly. "We're going to the mall, so we can do that purikura booth again if you want?"

You gave her a tight smile. "It's better if I don't go to the mall right now, I have a lot of other things I need to do before the trip." It was a lie, but a necessary one. With the mall being crowded, Aizawa didn't want to risk you going there and running into a villain, and besides, you were going to join Kurapika and Hawks on a little side quest. Since they could tell there was still a portal open, the three of you were going to run around Musutafu and see if you could all find it. It may have some answers to your constant-growing list of questions!

Mina and the others, save for Katsuki, were understandably bummed but didn't try to argue with you.

Finishing up your food, still not as hungry as before, you couldn't help but wonder when you had gotten so invested into this school stuff. At first you had been dismissive, and probably wouldn't have cared if you failed your exams, but now?

Damn, you really have changed. You just weren't sure if that was for better or worse, yet.

"Freecss?"

You looked up from your tray to see a very tired Hitoshi looking at you, his eye bags seeming worse than the last time. You gave him a tight smile, a bit happier to see your friend but not enough to brighten your spirits after what happened.

"Who the hell is this extra?!"

You all ignored Katsuki, as Hitoshi spoke up, his voice still tired. "Aizawa-sensei wanted me to come bring you to the teachers' lounge and said it was important. You, too, Hot Head."

A strange request, but you nodded and got up. Katsuki wasn't as forthcoming — he hated being left in the dark and didn't remember Hitoshi at all from the sport's festival, it seemed. You quickly grabbed Katsuki's hand to stop him from making a scene. " _Please_ , this may be about my, uh, _situation_? So don't make a scene." You weren't even 50% sure about that to be honest, but had no other idea why they'd call both you and Katsuki in. Unless you two were in trouble, and you couldn't think of anything you had done as of recent to warrant a trip to the teachers' lounge during lunch break...

Ignoring the strange looks from the rest of your friends, the two of you followed Hitoshi down to the teachers' lounge, Katsuki grumbling in irritation and muttering swears under his breath the entire time. What was a short walk seemed to stretch on for hours until you all were in front of the teachers' lounge. Aizawa was already waiting outside, beating Hitoshi in the tired department. Honestly, you weren't sure if they even felt 'tired' anymore. For those two, it seemed to be more of a personality trait than a feeling.

Looking over at Hitoshi nervously, you turned your gaze back to Aizawa. "Um... What's going on?"

Aizawa sighed. "Shinsou, you can head back to lunch. Thank you for bringing these two here."

You didn't like that tone of voice, and before Hitoshi could walk away you grabbed his wrist tightly to prevent him from leaving. "Actually, Aizawa-sensei, can he stay?"

Your teacher stared at you for a moment, before sighing once more and turning around to open the door. You took that as a 'yes', and Hitoshi took his hand from your grip gently, confused but following you into the lounge nonetheless.

It wasn't just you two who had been called in, it seemed. There was a whole party in here — All Might and Principal Nezu were here, as well as Ochaco, Izuku, Tenya, and Shouto. A strange collection of people, but weirdest of all, Kurapika was here, and _that_ was jarring to see. He looked tensed and stressed, his face a stark white. He also looked like he had been taking insomnia lessons from Aizawa — just what had happened within the past 24 hours for him to be like this?!

"What... Is going on?"

Nezu stepped forward. "Kurapika and Aizawa have informed me that everybody here knows about your true predicament." You felt your face grow still, counting everybody off in your head. Nezu was right — all the people here were the ones who figured out your secret, everybody except for... _Oh._

"Um, actually—"

Nezu didn't allow you to finish speaking, holding up a paw delicately. "Please allow me to speak, Freecss." You fell silent, not knowing how to really come forth and say poor Hitoshi had no clue what was going on. Nezu continued. "It seems I have underestimated you all — Kurapika here talked to both me and Aizawa-sensei about it, and we do believe you are right in revealing your true identity to your classmates in order to better prepare you all; especially in light of what has happened recently."

While at first you were relieved that you wouldn't have to keep this all a secret anymore, you faltered. "Wait... What has happened recently?" you parroted back, tilting your head. Kurapika stepped forward, and you could see the tinge of red from where the contacts didn't cover.

"Chrollo's _nen_ chain was removed."

Those words didn't really have an impact on anybody except for you. While everybody looked absolutely baffled, with only the teachers seeming more serious, your entire world had gone still. You gripped the back of one of the couches, feeling everything go dizzy. For him to have the _nen_ Kurapika placed upon him removed...!

"That's impossible," you denied. "How do you know?"

Kurapika shook his head, anxiously running a hand through his hair. "It must be the other mystery _nen_ user. It certainly wasn't Hisoka. The judgement chain I used on him was still essentially my _nen_ — I'll be able to detect when it's removed or has killed a Troupe member."

You struggled to breathe. "So Chrollo... He's..."

Nezu spoke up. "The authorities have already been alerted," he reassured you. "We believe that something will happen in the city while you all are off at summer camp — Kurapika believes they are waiting for you to get out of the way before they do whatever it is they are planning."

 _‘They’_ meaning _League of Villains_ , you assumed. Nodding, you deflated. What a nightmare. This was exactly what you and Kurapika had actively wanted to avoid. The worst has come true.

"What exactly is going on?"

This came from next to you — Hitoshi. You laughed sheepishly, turning back to Nezu. "Uh, yeah, earlier when you mentioned everybody here had 'figured it out'.... _You see_..."

It was well after lunch after you had explained to Hitoshi from the very beginning, giving everybody else a recap in the process. It was strange to be so open about it in front of Aizawa and Nezu especially, but you had been given permission, and it's not like you had done the best job of keeping it a secret anyways. Since the League of Villains was already in cahoots with Hisoka, Chrollo, and the mysterious _nen_ user, and therefore knew your origins, the biggest reason for keeping your secret was now gone.

"So that's why my quirk didn't work on you," Hitoshi mused. You shrugged in response, sitting on the green sofa. While Nezu placed education above all else, you all had been requested to stay in here until after the rest of the classes. Breaking the truth to the rest of Class 1-A was a delicate matter, he had said, and needed to be done carefully. Kurapika had left far earlier to meet up with Hawks for more recon stuff.

"Shigaraki's quirk didn't work on me either," you remembered, leaning back. "But I'm not immune to all quirks. If Ochaco touches me, I'll float, and you saw the burns I got from Shouto." The latter flinched at your reminder of the sport's festival. "I don't know why it's selective like that..."

Izuku piped up, green eyes lighting up. "Your _nen_ is your life force, right?" You nodded in confirmation. "Maybe when it perceives a threat, it automatically defends you!"

You shook your head. "In that case, I wouldn't have been hurt at all during the Sport's Festival."

Tenya chopped his arm down. "We do not have enough data on _nen_ in this world to fully be able to understand it, yet, and how it responds to quirks of different categories."

That was certainly an understatement. You were unsure how quirks and _nen_ correlated, still, and you glanced up at the very tired Kurapika, who was also stuck in here. He had been quiet the entire time, and you could tell he wanted to be out in the city hunting down Chrollo. After all, Chrollo having his _nen_ back was bad, _bad_ news. If he found another way back to your world, he could either escape Kurapika's clutches forever, or, even worse...

You shuddered. What if he brought the Troupe to this world? You didn't want to imagine the chaos that would ensue.

"Why did you want me to stay?"

You looked over at Hitoshi who had spoken up, his expression clearly troubled. You didn't get the question and tried to tune out Katsuki's bitching towards an unaffected Shouto.

"Because we're friends! Although I definitely didn't expect you to find out about me like... Well..." You trailed off, expression becoming troubled. It felt so _weird_ , being out in the open with everything. Even more weird was the fact that in just a few hours, your entire class would know. How would they react? Would any of them not accept you?

You just couldn't help but worry about it all.

Hitoshi looked troubled himself. Paired with the usual exhaustion on his face, he looked like he was ready to take the longest nap in the world. "I still can't believe that you're from a different universe. Part of me wants to think it's all an elaborate prank, but even the teachers..."

Ochaco, who had been listening in on the conversation, butt in. "It's not!" She confirmed. "Deku and I... we met one of the villains from her world, Hisoka!"

"We did too," Tenya recalled. "That was the peculiar clown-looking man, right?"

Shouto, promptly ignoring Katsuki's heated anger (and what _was_ Katsuki angry at? Knowing him, it could be a variety of things), nodded. "Yes."

He didn't say anything more, although it was understandable. The incident with Stain was supposed to be kept a secret, and Katsuki, Hitoshi, and Ochaco didn't know about it. It was best to keep it that way, especially since this otherworldly business was a _lot_ to take in as it was. No use in piling the truth bombs.

Finally speaking up was Kurapika. He had been staring at his phone in irritation since the teachers had left, most likely speaking with Hawks or trying to do research.

"Speaking of Hisoka, he was spotted."

You shot up from your seat, eyebrows raised. "Just him?"

Kurapika's lips thinned, and you could see how white his knuckles were from the tight grip he had on the device. "No," he replied, strained, before turning the phone to you. You had to walk around the lounge's couch in order to see the screen, your friends following out of curiosity. When you saw the other familiar figure on the screen, you couldn't help but groan in exasperation.

"Can we have somebody _good_ come from our world for once?"

"Who's that?" Ochaco asked, peering over your shoulder.

Kurapika turned his phone back to himself. "A trained assassin..."

"And a trained pain in my ass," you tacked on, both you and Kurapika speaking his name out loud at the same time. Your voice was tinged with annoyance, Kurapika's with exhaustion, but the two of you still said his name in sync, knowing that this new development would only increase to further complicate things.

"Illumi Zoldyck."


	48. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your classmates get filled in on the situation at hand, finally; meanwhile, Illumi only has one goal.

After the revelation of Illumi Zoldyck being in this world, Kurapika had gone off to a corner to call Hawks and discuss the situation with him.

"Was that the unknown _nen_ user?" Izuku asked, and you shook your head thoughtfully.

"No," you replied. "Illumi isn't a _nen_ exorcist — those are people who can remove _nen_ effects and curses. He's an asshole manipulator who emotionally abused my friend — his younger _brother_ — Killua." You grit your teeth. As somebody who was basically an older sister to Gon, you couldn't imagine _ever_ treating him the way Illumi treated Killua.

It was unforgivable.

Izuku looked troubled, but it was Ochaco who spoke up next, her voice thoughtful. "So this mystery _nen_ user, is he behind it all?"

"Seems like it."

Thinking about the situation, it just didn't add up. Illumi, Chrollo, and Hisoka were all confirmed to not be the "mysterious _nen_ user", which meant somebody _else_ was after you. But _who_? There wasn't a single other person that you could think of that would want you dead, and yet you had a feeling deep in your gut that you _did_ know who this person was. It was on the tip of your tongue, the person right within your mind's grasp, but the thought was slippery like water. Each time you tried to grab onto it, the name and face slipped through your fingers, bringing you back to square one.

Just who else was in this world? Who had it out for you? You were impatient and wanted to know _now_. Even more so, you wanted to know _why_.

Before you all could talk more about Illumi and what this meant for the heroes and villains alike, as well as who else could possibly be in this world, the door opened to reveal Principal Nezu, smiling as easily as ever.

"With classes over, it's best you all come back so we can have a discussion with the rest of your class. Mr. Shinsou, would you mind coming along, too? And Kurapika, of course!"

Kurapika looked over and nodded sharply, bidding 'goodbye' to Hawks on the phone. Your little ragtag group followed Nezu down the halls until you all got to the familiar towering doorway to Class 1-A. Nezu ushered you all in first, and you could see your classmates' faces light up at your guys' reappearance. You also saw a familiar yet unexpected face, brightening up.

"Ah, Jire! Why are you here?"

The third-year student smiled brightly, accepting your hug with open arms. "Long time no see! I heard you failed your written exams!"

The way Nejire had worded it was much too bright and happy for the reality, and you wilted, pouting. "It's not my fault it's in another language," you muttered. The teen just laughed, patting your head like a child.

"Excuse me, Aizawa-sensei, but what is going on?" The politely worded question came from none other than Momo, who looked confused by the weird after class meeting. She wasn't alone — a lot of your classmates were quick on the uptake that something serious was going on, and it was certainly an oddly gathered group. Along with Class 1-A was Aizawa, All Might, Principal Nezu, Nejire, Hitoshi, and Kurapika.

Nezu spoke up, and despite his short stature, everyone's eyes were on him immediately. "I am aware this is quite unconventional, but I request I have all of your attention for just a bit. Can you all except for Freecss go sit down?"

Everybody else in your group went except for Katsuki, who looked unsure. In the end, he bumped shoulders with you, opting to say nothing as he went to his seat. He looked annoyed, but you had absolutely no clue why. Shifting from one foot to the other, you tried to remain cool and calm, not wanting to seem nervous at all. In reality, you were pretty anxious for what was to come, despite it having been your idea. If Kurapika didn't stay standing by you, you might have been even more anxious.

Once everybody was in place, Nezu spoke up. Unlike the way you had revealed yourself to the people who knew, Nezu was eloquent and tactful in the way he spoke.

"Due to uncontrollable circumstances, we have decided that keeping quiet about a certain situation will no longer work in our favor and may be putting those around Miss Freecss in danger." You grimaced at the way he worded it but stayed quiet. "As such, we have decided to disclose the information to all of you. However, what you hear in this classroom must _not_ leave. You cannot tell anybody, not your friends, family, or other heroes.

"As you all know, Miss Freecss came in late to the school year after a peculiar video of her falling out of the sky surfaced on ViewTube. Since then, we are aware that strange events have been happening, and we have received questions from several concerned classmates."

 _That_ was new. Who else had been asking about you?

"I know this may be hard to believe, but the truth is that Freecss is simply not from this world, and it seems villains from her world have followed and are now working with the League of Villains."

Never mind about being tactful — that was pretty blunt, actually.

The most surprising of it all was the lack of surprise that came from the rest of your classmates. Momo was the first to speak up, expression thoughtful.

"It makes sense... [Y/n] writes in a weird language, doesn't quite understand basic history of this world, and struggles with reading Japanese, even if she were supposedly from the United States," she said, frowning as if she still couldn't believe it.

"Also, her quirk makes no sense. How can she go from having a simple enhancement quirk to controlling plants? Plus, that Shigaraki guy even claimed she was from another world," Eijirou added, as if it all had added up.

Mina shrugged nonchalantly. "Honestly, it's kind of obvious — no offense, [Y/n]! You're just really clueless about all of this modern stuff — the other day we were talking about space travel and you claimed that it was impossible and then freaked out when you found out people had gone to the moon."

Shouto added on coolly, as if to add onto your rising embarrassment, "She thought World War II was actually between other worlds."

"Yeah, on our date she mentioned a whole bunch of weird places and creatures like a 'foxbear' from her hometown."

"WAIT, KAMINARI, YOU GOT TO GO ON A DATE WITH [Y/N]?!"

This last outburst came from Minoru, who looked startled.

Denki laughed. "Where have you even been?"

Minoru shook his head, clearly perturbed. "Wait, this isn't the point! How is nobody else surprised?! Another world?! That's insane! Scary!"

Minoru wasn't the only one who had been unsure. A few classmates were more skeptical, but still willing to believe in you and Nezu, thankfully.

"I'm guessing Kurapika is also from [Y/n]'s world?" Asui asked, tilting her head in thought. Nezu answered for you.

"That is correct!" Immediately, all attention was on him again. "We normally wouldn't have shared such information, but with the influx of villains from Freecss world that seem to be after her, this puts you all indirectly in a line of fire. To better prepare you all, the training camp will be pushing you all to your limits to help protect yourselves in the worst possible scenario, although we plan on having heroes around constantly now, until the threat is permanently gone."

For a group of younger teens, your class understood the severity of the situation. Even you, who never took anything seriously, understood. After all, not only was everybody in danger now, but this was partially your fault. Somehow, you had caught the eyes of a villain from your world, somebody desperate enough to bring others here and team up with the League. It was the one person shrouded in mystery, the seeming mastermind of it all.

Was it somebody you knew, or a completely new foe? If you could just figure out who it was, everything might make more sense, but... The only way to do that would be to confront them, and you doubted _that_ would end well.

With your secret now out in the open for the class, you felt lighter. You'd still have to be careful out in public, but with friends? You had come to trust nearly everybody in this room, and it was this trust that made it possible for you to answer everybody's questions about you truthfully.

You had been afraid, honestly. Needless worry had plagued you — what if they had blamed you? What if they shunned you, or thought you inferior because you were technically 'quirkless'? Instead, your friends had all accepted it and you without hesitation. It felt nice, and you couldn't help the bright grin that grew on your face as Mina and Ochaco enveloped you in a tight hug.

Weirdly enough... For once, this felt like home.

* * *

"It's unlike you to stay on one side for so long, Hisoka."

Sitting in a bar — one far away from the League of Villains' hideout — were Illumi Zoldyck and Hisoka Morow. With his back to the bar, and a pink, alcoholic beverage in his hand, Hisoka's lips turned upwards.

"Do you really think I'm on their side?"

Illumi's facial expression didn't change, didn't even twitch at Hisoka's revelation. Instead, he looked over with a blank look, whisky in his own hand. "You're always up to something."

Hisoka chuckled, taking a drink from the fruity beverage. "Plans are changing constantly now," he pointed out. "With Chrollo's _nen_ removed earlier than expected, we already have a fight planned for when we get back to our world."

"So there should be nothing else keeping you here."

Hisoka's golden eyes glinted in amusement. "No," he disagreed. "Your brother and my other favorite toy are here, are they not? Besides, seeing [Y/n] flourish so much...." Hisoka raised his free hand to his face as if he couldn't contain his excitement, groaning, and Illumi's facial expression finally moved, his eyebrows furrowing slightly.

"You're disgusting." Despite the words and the way his eyebrows had drawn inwards, Illumi's voice was as plain as ever, just pointing out the obvious. Hisoka just chuckled again, clearly not taking offense to Illumi's words. When he didn't respond, Illumi allowed his black eyes to slide away from Hisoka and analyze the bar again. It was mostly empty, and the few people in here were clearly weak. Especially without _nen_ , nobody in here would be a threat at all. "So what are you planning next, then?"

"Hm?" Hisoka glanced over. "Are you interested?"

"I don't want you interfering with my own plans."

Finishing his drink, Hisoka put the glass on the bar top behind him. "I won't," he cooed. "Although, I do think it'd be fun to pay my little toy a visit again to give a warning." He tilted his head back, the grin on his face widening. The upcoming events... Just the thought of it all was enough to make him shiver in excitement, the feeling coursing through his veins. "As for now... I'll continue to stick by that little group of villains. They're entertaining and will be the easiest way for me to get what _I_ want."

Illumi shook his head, almost looking exasperated. "I'll never understand you, Hisoka."

The man in question gave a Cheshire-like grin and shrugged as if it couldn't be helped. Illumi didn't seem bothered by the fact; by now, the eldest Zoldyck was used to the jester's antics. Instead, Illumi stood up, placing the near-finished whisky next to Hisoka's empty glass.

"I'm going to search for Kil."

Neither adult bothered to say 'goodbye' as Illumi left the bar, and after a few moments, Hisoka stood up, still smiling eerily. "Hm... I wonder if I should have shared Killua's whereabouts...?" No, that wouldn't be fun at all. Illumi, much like everybody else around him, was going to have to work for it if he wanted any decent information from Hisoka. Instead, Hisoka left the bar, heading into the opposite direction Illumi went off to, his stride having a purpose as people kept their distance from him.

After all, Hisoka had a little group to pay a visit to, now that they were in this world.


	49. Bloodlust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You, Hawks, and Kurapika do some investigating. While off on your own, you meet a cute girl who is probably also a psychopath.

"We're literally getting nowhere."

Groaning as you sat at a patio table with Kurapika and Hawks, you resisted the urge to bang your head on the table. The three of you had spent the whole morning combing through Musutafu to no avail. No portal or any familiar people in sight.

Kurapika looked equally as disgruntled, his voice tinged with annoyance. "We can only cover so much ground — even if it's a part of a larger city, Musutafu itself is pretty big."

You nodded in agreement, pursing your lips in thought.

"If I wasn't with you guys, I could scope out the city easier from above." Hawks said this in between bites of fried chicken, not seeming as put out as you and Kurapika. At least _somebody_ here was happier.

Although, his words did give you an idea....

Slowly sitting up straight, you glanced back and forth at Kurapika and Hawks. "We should split up."

 _That_ got their attention. Hawks immediately started to choke on his food, and Kurapika merely looked thoughtful, expression otherwise unreadable. Knowing Hawks would protest, you swiftly continued, not wanting to let up. "We _should_. We're not getting anywhere acting as an off-brand Mystery Gang, and we can cover much more ground if we split up. If any of us get into trouble or find something, we can send out a text right away."

For once, Kurapika was in agreement with you. Hawks, on the other hand, wasn't quite on board yet. "You're a magnet for trouble, kid. If you get caught, Eraser'll have my head."

You couldn't help but snort. "Then I won't get caught," you promised, leaning forward with a newfound vigor. "I swear if I see a villain, I won't engage. Okay? And if I'm in trouble and can't get to my phone, I'll send out a big burst of _nen_ so Kurapika will notice." You weren't sure if that was actually possible; hopefully, you wouldn't have to find out.

Hawks was still iffy, but finally nodded in reluctance. If it was any other hero, this might not have worked, but Hawks seemed more willing to take the risk, and you nodded at Kurapika, standing up. Kurapika's lips thinned.

"[Y/n]," he called out before you could leave. "Don't do anything risky. Above all, stay cautious, okay?"

"Mhm." Your expression grim, you nodded once before going to leave. "I'll let you all know if I find something, okay?"

With that said, you were off on your own sleuthing trip.

And.... Nada. You had checked every single alley in Musutafu, it feels like, to no avail. You figured if there was any good place for a dark, swirly portal to another world, it'd be in either an alley or an abandoned building. Unfortunately, you were in a large city, meaning there was a plethora of both. This was like searching for a needle in a haystack, frustration taking a hold of you. This was useless. You were getting _nowhere_.

Seeing as there was nothing else here, you had turned to exit the alley you were in, only for your body to collide with another. The both of you stumbled backwards, neither of you falling. For a moment, you were tense, expecting the worst, but...

In front of you wasn't Hisoka, or Chrollo, or Shigaraki. Instead, it was a cute girl around your age in a school uniform, her blonde hair twisted into two buns atop of her head. For a moment, the two of you stared at each other, but before either one of you could react or say something, another person entered the alley. Right away you could tell he was some sleaze — despite it being just after noon, he reeked of alcohol and had a leer on his face that made you want to punch it off. Seeing both you and the teen, his eyes lit up.

"Oh, there's _two_ of ya! Muss be my lucky day."

"You have _got_ to be kidding me."

No sooner had those words left your mouth did the man brandish a serrated blade, before bringing it up to his mouth and dragging his tongue along the edge. Where the tongue touched the blade, his saliva turned purple, and you couldn't stop yourself from cringing. Seriously, was your luck really this terrible? You had been looking for clues, not some street-level thug looking for a thrill!

You and the girl exchanged glances. Unlike you, she was grinning, excitement clearly in her golden eyes, and you had a pretty strong feeling she was about to dive headfirst into what was seeming to be an unavoidable fight. Scanning the alley, you were bummed to see there weren't any plants at all — which, you guess, was to be expected. You _did_ see a particularly large rock by your feet, though, and without any further thought you picked up the rock and channeled some _nen_ into your arm before flinging it forward.

Your aim was spot on. The drunkard had no time to dodge as it collided with his forehead, knocking him out and sending him flying out of the alley and into the street.

Perhaps you put a bit too _much_ strength into that throw.

Grimacing as the incident began to gather attention, you could see, even from here, he was bleeding from the head — oh _shit_ , did you just kill another person? You had promised Hawks and Kurapika that you wouldn't get into any trouble!

—And now people were starting to peer down the alley.

Not giving your new murder accomplice any time to think, you grabbed her hand and started to bolt deeper into the alley. You had gotten to this one through a system of connected alleys, meaning there was another exit.

"Oh, you're forward!"

The girl you were dragging along behind you giggled, but didn't seem to resist, instead squeezing your hand just as tightly. You gave her a hasty apology, too focused on getting out of there.

Ten minutes later, the two of you had wound up in a café by the train station. The teen across from you was bouncing happily in her seat, eating a parfait, while you were more slumped and poking your spoon around in the parfait glass in front of you. You spoke up first.

"I am pretty sure I just killed a man, and I am so sorry." Was that even a proper apology? Should you be more shocked, or were you desensitized to this kind of stuff?

Apparently, it _was_ a good enough apology as the blonde shrugged and gave you a toothy smile, flashing fangs at you. "It's okay! There was even blood!"

Okay, she may be cute, but she was definitely a psychopath in her own right. Resisting the urge to plant your face dramatically into the table, you groaned. "I'm going to be in so much trouble. Like, you cannot begin to _imagine_ what will happen if Ai- my dad finds out about this. I can't even say that I did the world a favor by getting rid of trash like that!" No, in this world, law was law — even if somebody deserved death, you would still get in a lot of trouble.

Startled by your outburst, the teen paused for a moment, regarding you with crinkled, cat-like eyes before she burst into another fit of giggles. "You're so cute! You're more worried about getting in trouble than the thought of hurting somebody!"

Where did you even begin to form a response to that? Is this how Kurapika felt when dealing with _you_?

"I'm Toga, but you can call me Himiko, because we're friends now, right?"

Finally, you took a bite of your own parfait. "I... guess? I'm—"

"[Y/n]-chan! You were in the Sports Festival!"

Ah, great, she knew who you were. "Yeah, that's right... Um, Himi, can you not tell anybody about this? Pretty please?"

Himiko, as it was turning out, seemed to be just a very bubbly and giggly person in general as she bobbed her head up and down. "Mm-hm! On one condition!"

You relaxed, not too concerned with her one condition. She had agreed so readily and didn't seem put off by what had just happened, not to mention she made no comment about your ridiculous disguise.

Asking what it was, Himiko was quick with her answer, and the moment the words fell from her lips, you could feel a fire erupt across your face, the spoon in your hand clattering to the table noisily.

"You want — _what?!_ "

A date. Himiko had requested a date and to spend the rest of the day with her. You were used to being the forward one, never the other way around, and her brazen words had struck you off-guard for a moment before you agreed. After you had agreed to a date with her, the two of you had left the café. Kurapika and Hawks would _kill_ you for slacking off, but you'd take their anger over the police questioning you for assault-slash-possible-murder.

First up, it was decided for you two to see a movie. Himiko had told you to head on in and that she would pay for tickets and popcorn, and so believing her, you went inside, waiting for her to appear. She had bought tickets to the goriest looking film being shown, _See III,_ and you couldn't deny you were pretty excited. Sure, these types of films were clearly fake and a bit campy, but it beat some lame romance that tried to make everybody cry (although, you had to admit that _The Journal_ had definitely made you tear up a bit). 

Throughout the whole movie, you and Himiko had cheered while sharing a popcorn, neither of you phased even when one of the victims was disemboweled from a torn rib cage. The movie had come to an end far too quickly, with both you and Himiko gushing about the movie the two of you just saw.

"Did you see all of that blood go _sploosh_ when that doctor's head was blown off?!"

A dark red blush was painted across Himiko's face, and you grinned, throwing out the popcorn container. "That trap was seriously wicked! But let me tell you, that one trap that he called 'The Rack'.... That was so brutal! If I hadn't seen worse in real life, even I would have been queasy!"

Himiko paused, tilting her head towards you in curiosity. "You've seen worse?"

Faltering in your steps as the two of you left the theater, you wondered how to answer it. Truthfully, the answer was 'yes'. Genthru's _hatsu_ literally made people blow up from the inside, and having seen it firsthand, you weren't sure anything would ever top it. You couldn't just straight up tell this girl though that you had seen others get blown up or that your younger friend had once ripped out a serial killer's heart with his bare hands.

Instead, you swiftly and smoothly changed the subject with a shrug. "So, what now? I've still got a few hours until I have to be back home."

You did great in distracting Himiko as she bounced on her heels. "Hm... Oh, I know! There's a knife throwing range around here, do you want to go?"

Knife throwing... That was certainly unorthodox for a date, but it sounded fun, and so you quickly agreed, the two of you heading to the place. It wasn't just knife throwing, it turned out — you could also throw hatchets and darts, but Himiko had insisted on knives and so you had agreed, the two of you being led to a private little range.

Soon, you found out why. Himiko was a complete _bad ass_ , never missing the targets on the other side of the range. Somehow, she managed to look adorable all while throwing knives with laser-sharp precision. Even you, who generally had great aim, were nowhere near Himiko's level, just barely missing the center of the targets each time.

"Okay, how do you do that?! You haven't missed once!"

To say you were exasperated was an understatement as you whined, and Himiko tittered, a hand flying up to her mouth. "It's your stance, [N/n]-chan!"

"My stance . . . ?"

Coming up from behind, Himiko shifted your body slightly, your back pressed up against her as she moved your arms back a bit. "And then just loosen your shoulders up just a bit...!"

The position was a bit more intimate than you would have expected, but you felt completely comfortable as Himiko helped you out, even showing you how to properly hold the knife. After a moment, she pulled back, the smile never leaving her face. "Now, just throw!"

You did as she said, taking a deep breath before flinging the knife forward — only to get a perfect bull's eye. Eyes widening in delight, you began to jump up and down, ecstatic that Himiko's advice had actually worked.

"Oh my god, did you see that?! Right in the center, that was so cool!" You jumped up and down, and Himiko joined in your excitement.

" _You're_ so cool!" Himiko gushed, the blush erupting across her face again. "I want to be _just like you_!"

Those words were flattering, and you grabbed Himiko's hands, pulling her inwards. "Thank you," you said earnestly, "but I think you're best when you're just yourself! You're pretty and bad ass and really friendly!" You weren't sure why she wouldn't want to be herself, but you weren't having it — from the past few hours you've spent with Himiko, she was a really sweet, albeit quirky teen. Yeah, she seemed to be a bit of a hemophiliac with a penchant for bloodshed, but everybody had their flaws! At least she wasn't a total creep about it like Hisoka or going around and blowing people up like Genthru.

Himiko's eyes seemed to sparkle at your words. "We're best friends now, _right_ , [N/n]-chan?"

You snorted, unable to stop the smile from spreading across your face. "I would hope so," you joked. "After all, we _did_ commit possible murder together."

Before you could finally withdraw your hands from Himiko's, the other teen clamped down harder, squeezing your hands tightly. "You're really pretty." The blatant delivery of her words had you a blushing mess, but she paid it no mind, her pupils blown wide. "I bet you'd be dazzling covered in blood!"

Wait — what?

_What?_

The strange words were enough to cause you to nearly reel back in dismay, blinking in confusion. "I . . . _huh_?"

"[N/n]-chan . . . _Can I have some of your blood_?"

You swiftly yanked your hands away from Himiko, the blonde pouting immediately. For a moment, you were silently stunned, trying to process what just happened. ". . . Are you a vampire?"

Himiko started to giggle again, and this time you focused more on her little fangs. Was a vampire quirk really a thing? You shouldn't be surprised, but you honestly were.

"No, silly!"

Oh. You had no clue why she wanted your blood then, and you thought over it a bit.

"Um... Is next time okay, then?"

Your friend was clearly put out, but after a moment she perked up and nodded. "This means we'll see each other again!"

Matching her grin, you mirrored her nod. "Um, duh, of course! We're friends now, and I had a lot of fun today! I'm kind of sad I have to head back soon..."

The two of you leaving the throwing range, Himiko hooked her arm into yours, the two of you cheerily heading out. Kurapika and Hawks had wanted to meet back up at the café you all had lunch at, so that's where you had started to head.

"Oh! Before we leave, can we exchange cell numbers?"

Himiko stopped, pursing her lips in thought. "Hm... I don't have a cell phone, but we'll see each other again. Promise!"

She was so confident that you couldn't help but believe her, and you stepped back, nodding once. "It's a promise, then! I had a lot of fun today, Himi, so we have to — holy _shit_."

Eyes trailing behind her, a man in ridiculous attire could be spotted, easily six feet tall without those ridiculous heels. Hisoka. The moment you spotted him, you tugged Himiko into the closest alley, pressing the both of you into the wall. Did he see you? Sense you? You weren't sure, but you didn't want to drag Himiko into this mess.

Eyes snapping back to meet Himiko's confused visage, you did the only thing you could think of.

"Himiko, please kiss me."

Your request had immediately caught the teen off guard for a moment as her eyes widened, before they crinkled back in joy. While most strangers would be overly concerned at such a sudden request, Himiko was quick to roll with the punches, agreeing to your outlandish proposal.

The two of you leaned forward, just as the familiar _click clack_ of heels neared the entrance. You had seen in a movie once where people were uncomfortable with PDA and tended to look away from it on instinct. You weren't sure if it would work, but it was worth a shot as your lips met with each other.

And honestly... Even if it didn't work, kissing Himiko was _definitely_ worth it. The two of you were eager, and you felt one of her fangs bite into your lower lip fiercely. You were fairly sure you were bleeding as Himiko's tongue swiped across your lower lip, but didn't care as your own mouth parted open for her. What was meant to be a simple kiss got heated quickly, and you hadn't realized you had been pressed into the wall, Himiko pressed into your body with your fingers in her hair. 

Pulling away, you caught the excited glimmer in her eyes before her lips trailed downwards along your jawline, pulling down your shirt collar and finally stopping on your collarbone to bite down, causing you to give a sharp gasp. The blonde didn't pull away, instead suckling on your collarbone, your eyes fluttering closed.

_Bzzt. Bzzt._

Feeling your phone vibrate in the back of your pocket ruined the mood, and Himiko pouted as you gently pushed her away. There was a bit of blood smeared on her lips that she had quickly licked up, and you pulled out your phone to see that Kurapika was calling you. Mouthing a quick 'sorry' to Himiko, you picked up the phone.

"Hell—"

"I'm sending you a location, you need to go there _right_ _now_."

Before you could even agree, Kurapika had hung up. Talk about abrupt — his voice had been urgent. Did they find something? Sighing, you looked back at Himiko, clearly down that your date was officially over.

That kiss, nearly turned into a make-out session, had been a lot more enjoyable than you had expected as your hand fluttered to your chest. "That was amazing," you said breathlessly.

Himiko hummed in ascent. "Your blood... It's so _tasty_ , [N/n]-chan!" 

You put your hand on the side of the neck, feeling a sticky wetness from the bloody hickey Himiko had given you. You snorted. "You're truly one of a kind, Himi-chan." Shaking your head in dismay, you wiped at it so it didn't stand out. Thankfully, it was in a place where your shirt collar could easily hide it. Giving her one more kiss on the cheek and sauntering past her, you gave a little wave.

"I'll see you around, Himi! It's a promise!"

She gave you a cheery wave back, both of you exiting the alley and going your separate ways. Thankfully, there were no clown sightings, and you turned around to start heading to the pinned location Kurapika had sent.

"Hello, [Y/n]~."

"God fucking damnit all."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this goes out to the gays


	50. Homesickness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You reunite.

Hisoka was the bane of your existence.

To his credit, he wasn't trying to fight you or kidnap you, but you didn't appreciate being followed around by your least favorite person in the world. "Don't you have better things to do? Younger children to stalk? Balloons to hand out?"

Despite your ranting, Hisoka seemed amused by your annoyance, easily keeping in step. "I already told you I'm not going to do anything to you, [N/n]," he promised. The predatory gleam in his eyes, and the way he smiled, though, made you wonder otherwise. Hisoka was not to be trusted, and you weren't stupid enough to believe anything he said.

Huffing, you had sent a text to Kurapika to let him know you were being stalked by Bozo the Clown. Hisoka had certainly noticed it, you weren't _discreet_ about it, but he said nothing. Eventually, Kurapika had texted back only to tell you that Hisoka wasn't going to try anything and he was involved in the meeting.

 _Great._ You were getting whiplash from Hisoka constantly changing sides.

"I hope you know I hate you."

Hisoka merely smiled and shrugged, continuing to walk. "I know~."

God, you hated your life.

"Freecss?"

You and Hisoka turned around at the same time, meeting heterochromatic eyes. Instantly, those eyes widened in recognition of Hisoka, and before anything could happen you jumped forward, right in front of Shouto.

"Nonono, he's not bad right now! We're going to meet up with Kurapika and Hawks!" Unsurprisingly, Shouto looked unconvinced. Considering his last encounter with Hisoka had been right after the fight with Stain and had almost ended in your kidnapping, you didn't really _blame_ him. "Anyways, what are you doing out? Why aren't you at the mall?"

Shouto's eyes flickered back and forth from you to Hisoka, conflicted. ". . . I didn't go. I went to visit my mom instead, and now I'm going to get soba."

"A-ah...."

This felt very awkward, and unsure of what else to do, you gave Shouto a strained smile. "Um, do you want to come with us?"

. . .

For a moment, all three of you were silent, and Shouto slightly shuffled to the side before nodding curtly. "If only to make sure _he_ doesn't try anything." It was cute to think that you and Shouto together could hold up against Hisoka, but you figured the teen could do without the blow to his ego. Instead, you relaxed, grabbing his hand to tug him forward and missing the blush that scattered across his face.

"Your _quirk_... You can control both fire and ice?"

"Hisoka, shut the fuck up."

About a ten-minute walk later, you were standing in the lobby of the Shangri-La Hotel — Kurapika had texted you a room number to go up to — why did he get a hotel room? It made no sense. The secrecy was making you feel somewhat anxious, and as if Hisoka could sense that nervousness, his grin grew wider. He hadn't said anything, but you couldn't help but tell him to shut up again, looking over at Shouto.

"Hawks and Kurapika are up there, so we'll be fine." You weren't sure if you said that to reassure yourself or your friend more.

Taking the elevator up, soon the three of you were standing outside of an unassuming hotel room door, and after double-checking your phone to make sure you were at the right room, you knocked twice.

After a quick moment, the door creaked open, the familiar face of Kurapika taking you all in before opening the door wider. From the back, you heard Hawks call out to Shouto, but none of it mattered as you locked eyes with somebody you hadn't seen in months. He still looked the same, as bright and cheerful as ever, and you felt your eyes tear up.

Shoving past Kurapika, you burst forward, tears already springing free as you engulfed the younger teen into a bone crushing hug.

"Gon!!!"

The teen hugged you back and laughed, and you couldn't help but bury your face into his spiky hair, sobbing. "Gon... You're here! Oh my god, you're here!"

"What are we, chopped liver?"

Pulling back from Gon, you furiously wiped at your eyes, looking over to see two more familiar faces. Leorio Paladiknight and Killua Zoldyck. Looking around, you started to laugh in disbelief, trying to wipe away all the tears.

"The band's back together."

Killua made a noise of confusion. "It's nice to see you're still weird."

Before you could retort, Gon got your attention, his eyes narrowing in on your neck. "[Y/n], are you bleeding?" Leorio immediately swooped in, and before you could protest, he was tilting your head back in an almost motherly way, yanking down your collar.

"Hey!"

For a moment it was silent, and you saw both Killua's and Leorio's faces turn red. The others started to come over and you pulled yourself away, feeling flustered yourself as you tugged your shirt collar up.

Gon, ever the tactless person, did not stay quiet. "Did somebody bite you?"

Kurapika, who hadn't seen the hickey, choked on what was probably his own saliva, and you felt your face redden even more. You loved Gon but god, this was the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to you.

"Who—"

Cutting Leorio off, you clapped your hands, unable to hide your beet red face. "ANYWAYS, now that we're all together, let's get this meeting, um, started!"

You received a foul look from Kurapika which let you know that this conversation was far from over, but for now you ignored it. 

Everybody fell quiet, as if nobody was sure of where to start. Sitting on the hotel bed, Hisoka sighed, spreading out his hands in front of him and giving an over-dramatic sigh. "I suppose I'll start," he said, golden eyes eyeing everybody in the room. You didn't like the way his gaze lingered on Gon, and you subconsciously stood in front of the teen to shield him. Hisoka smirked.

"Chrollo's _nen_ has been removed," he stated. This wasn't news to you, Kurapika, Hawks, or Shouto, but your other trio of friends reacted differently. Killua pursed his lips and looked back at Kurapika, a silent 'I told you so' being told loud and clear. Hisoka continued, ignoring Leorio's loud outburst of "WHAT?!". "Furthermore, Illumi is now in this world~."

"Tell us something we don't know," you grumbled in irritation, crossing your arms. Hisoka's eyes narrowed in contemplation.

"The last _nen_ user... His name is Pariston Hill."

Crickets. It wasn't a name you recognized, and nobody else seemed to recognize it either. Damn, this meant you all were facing a new foe, and you weren't sure about how you felt about it, especially if he was as strong as Hisoka, Chrollo, or Illumi. 

Next to speak was a very skeptical Kurapika, although he was quickly putting things together. "I'm assuming this Pariston removed Chrollo's judgement chain," he said, crossing his arms. Hisoka said nothing, but the twinkle in his eyes seemed to say that Kurapika was on track. "Pariston must be the one who wants [Y/n], and I'm assuming his stipulation in restoring Chrollo's _nen_ was for you to bring her back. Correct?"

Hisoka hummed lowly, his aura starting to seep out, and it took all you had to not shiver. Shouto stepped up right beside you, and you sought out his hand immediately to hold.

Clearly getting everything right, Kurapika continued. "You're here because you're no longer interested in helping the League of Villains — your goal was to get Chrollo's _nen_ back, and now that it _is_..."

"I plan on fighting him."

You huffed, scrunching up your nose. "Is it too much to hope that you both kill each other at the same time?"

Glancing over at you, Hisoka didn't retort, instead carrying on as if you hadn't spoken up at all. "I have no interest in being in this world anymore. Once my end of the deal is met, I'll be returning to our own world."

Hawks frowned. "Your end?"

"I made a promise that I intend to fulfill. I'm just here as a warning," he said, standing up languidly from the bed. "The League is planning on making a move soon. Pariston intends on capturing [N/n]."

Beside you, Shouto stiffened up, the two of you exchanging weary glances.

"None of us have met Pariston — what does he look like? How do we look out for him?"

Leorio vigorously nodded in agreement. "Yeah, yeah! What if we've already seen him?!"

Tilting his head, Hisoka thought for a moment. "He's blond, and a proficient _nen_ user," he started, face neutral. "And he has a tendency to wear the most obnoxious suits."

"That's rich, coming from you," Killua grumbled, but you barely acknowledged the witty comment, too busy realizing in horror who Pariston Hill may be.

"This... Pariston. Are his eyes brown, kind of soulless looking?"

Hisoka regarded you fully, and you didn't appreciate the way he looked at you. "You know him."

Gulping, you could feel yourself grow a bit lightheaded. "No... Well, yes, but not by name. I never knew his name. . ."

A hand steadied itself on your shoulder. While Shouto held your left hand, Kurapika was on your other side, looking at you in concern. You felt nauseous and sick, cold and clammy. Were you going to faint, or throw up? You weren't sure, but everything seemed to have come into clarity finally. You all had your missing piece, and things seem to have gotten a whole lot more complicated.

"Who is he?" Gon asked, brown eyes worried.

You closed your eyes and took a deep breath to steady yourself, bracing yourself for the words that were going to leave your lips.

"That _rat_... _Pariston_... He's the one who taught me _nen_."

"EHHH?!"

Gon and Killua had similar outbursts, exchanging looks. Those two had heard your horror stories of that man and your brutal _nen_ training. Leorio had heard similar, although not as many, and seemed just as confused.

"Why would he want to kidnap [Y/n], though? If you two know each other, it seems like it'd be a lot easier to just seek you out."

You shook your head. "No... You don't know him like I do," you started, seeming to be dazed, [e/c] eyes not focusing on one thing. "He's a conniving bastard — he _always_ has some sneaky plan up his sleeves, and only cares about his own entertainment. I consider him worse than Hisoka in that regard," you admitted, finally looking over at Hisoka. His face seemed more serious, eyes not leaving you. "Hisoka doesn't pretend. If he wants something, he doesn't hide it, and despite being a total fucking freak... In a way, you're a bit predictable." Oh, Hisoka did _not_ like that comment, his lips twitching downwards.

"Pariston, on the other hand, is a two-faced, snakelike piece of shit person that will play you like a fiddle. You won't know until it's much too late. I'd deal with Hisoka _any_ day over Pariston."

"Worse than Hisoka, huh . . . ?" Leorio looked perturbed, and you couldn't blame him. 

Pulling away from both Shouto and Kurapika, you walked towards the window, expression solemn. ". . . If I had known that it was Pariston who was here . . . I would have been much more careful. Him being here changes everything. He tricked me with my own _nen_ ability, and probably knows me better than anybody."

Your voice was barely a whisper, and nobody responded to your comment. The atmosphere in the room had grown somber, everybody letting this weigh on their thoughts. Kurapika finally broke the silence, thoughtful on your words of Pariston.

"If he's really as sneaky as you say, then why remove Chrollo's _nen_ now? Why not wait for [Y/n]?"

Nobody, not even Hisoka, seemed to know the answer, and finally you came to the only conclusion, your voice contemplative and slow. "Something changed. Whether it is on their side or ours, Pariston must have deemed it too risky to keep Chrollo's _nen_ subdued. Whatever they are planning, they probably need him now."

That was _not_ a pleasant thought, but there didn't seem to be any more ideas.

Deciding he had had enough of this conversation, Hisoka had started towards the door, and at the same time, Hawks stood up, red wings fanning out. 

"I can't let you leave," he started, his own eyes narrowed in on Hisoka. "You're still a villain in this world, meaning I'm going to have to take you in."

At Hawks' challenge, Hisoka's bloodlust heightened, seeming to engulf and smother the entire room. Your chest tightened, a bead of sweat rolling down your face as you whipped around, your expression still, waiting for Hisoka to attack. He didn't.

Nobody was unaffected as Hisoka went to the door, not sparing anybody a second glance. As soon as he touched the door handle, the aura disappeared, and Hisoka gave you all a wanton smile. "I'll keep in touch. Bye bye~."

When he finally left the room, you let out a long sigh, leaning against the cool glass of the window. "Please," you croaked, voice nearly breathless. " _Never_ antagonize Hisoka again. I'm too young and pretty to die."

Your comment broke the tension as Killua snorted, eyebrows knit together in confusion. "You? Young and pretty? You're almost as much of an old hag as Bisky!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY, BRAT?!"

Gon butt in before you and Killua could go at it, raising his hand up. "Hey, [Y/n]-nee-chan, you have to tell us everything that's happened since you've been here!"

Your smile softened, [e/c] eyes flickering to everybody in the room. That's right... It had been ages since you all had been together like this, and you couldn't believe how much had changed. Where did you even start in telling Gon what all had happened since you first got here? U.A., the attack on USJ, the nomu, the Sport's Festival and your fight with Stain, your _nen_ abilities... There was so much to catch up on that it made your heart clench painfully.

"E-eh?! Are you tearing up again?!"

You wiped at your eyes and pulled Gon into another tight hug, squeezing your eyes shut. "I've missed you so much," you admitted. "I was so worried! You're the only family I have, and to be separated from you for so long..."

Gon laughed sheepishly, hugging you back. "We're together again, and now we can take down the villains here together."

Pulling away slightly, you gave the teen you considered a younger brother a fond smile. "Yeah. This world is pretty different from our old one, though."

Looking back at Kurapika, your eyes drifted up towards the ceiling in thought. "Kurapika... Do you think Aizawa would be alright with us all reconvening at his apartment? We have a _lot_ to catch up on."

Kurapika sighed. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he had shrugged and started to call up Aizawa, turning away from you all.

"Wait . . . Aizawa-sensei?"

Oh, yeah. You totally forgot that Shouto didn't know about your pseudo-adoption by your teacher, and pulling away fully from Gon, you laughed, rubbing the back of your neck.

"Ahaha... It's a _long_ story, Shouto. A very long story."


End file.
